00:00:00
S1: Well. Daniel Kinahan is due back on Irish soil this evening after being extradited on the government jet from Dubai. He was previously identified in the High Court as a senior figure in organised crime on a global scale, and in 2022, the US government offered rewards of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrests of three alleged Kinahan cartel members. 49 year old Daniel Kinahan was arrested in Dubai or under a warrant issued by the Irish courts, and his plane is due to land at Casement Aerodrome in Baldonnel in the coming hours. Well, crime correspondent with the Irish Daily Mirror and Irish Daily star Paul Healy has been following the story closely. And he joins me now on the line. Paul. Good afternoon.
00:00:48
S2: Good afternoon.
00:00:49
S1: Daniel Kinahan on his way back to Ireland. Now how significant is this for the Garda investigation into the Kinahan organisation? Do you think.
00:00:58
S2: This is a hugely significant operation? Um, this is the first time, maybe ever, in the history of the state, that the government is being used for this type of situation. This is an operation that the state has been carefully planning over the past number of weeks, ever since Daniel Kinahan was first arrested in Dubai in April of this year. So the plane is currently in the air. As I'm speaking to you right now, it's just approaching Turkey. There's about five or 5.5 hours left in the journey, and we understand that it's a Irish Air Corps operated Dassault Falcon. Uh, it's known as a strategic reach jet. Um, and it was purchased for 53 million last year, but we more commonly know it as the government jet. It's usually used to ferry ministers and the Taoiseach around the globe, but can also be used in emergency situations. Um but this is a first for, for any kind of use of this type of plane. And it really speaks to the level of security concerns on this operation.
00:01:57
S1: And as you were saying, this is a very carefully planned, meticulous operation, a huge garda presence on board. What does that tell us, Paul, about the level of concern around the security operation?
00:02:11
S2: Well, Daniel Kinahan, as you mentioned, at the top of the show, is considered to be the leader of an organised crime group, the Kinahan organised crime group. And that brings with it a lot of security concerns, not only for his own safety, but for the safety of the officers who are transporting him, and they have to be sure that he is kept safe at all times. So he would have assessed ahead of time this particular operation. And they've obviously determined that the government jet, which, you know, it can be flown direct from Dubai straight to Dublin without any stops, that that that's the best use for this particular type of operation. There have been previous in relation to Sean McGovern, the alleged right hand man of Daniel Kinahan. He was brought back on a C 295 which which has to stop twice. So they've obviously determined that this particular jet, which can travel much quicker, is a better use of their time. And when the jet actually arrives in Casement Aerodrome later this evening, there will be a heavily armed presence there. So my understanding is there will be members of the Garda Armed Support Unit, the Emergency Response Unit, and obviously there will be members also of the National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau. So they are the the bureau that are leading this particular investigation into Daniel Keenan.
00:03:20
S1: So a huge operation on the ground here in Dublin as well. How quickly could Daniel Keenan be before the Special Criminal Court when he lands later?
00:03:29
S2: Yes. So this will be pretty immediate. The moment that the jet actually arrives, Keenan will be formally arrested on the tarmac in relation to the charge, which is directing a criminal organization. He will be taken most likely, although we're not privy to all of the details of the security operation. I suppose if we were, it wouldn't be that effective. But if we're going by precedent, um, he will be brought in an unmarked Garda vehicle, uh, in a in a convoy straight to the special Criminal courts or the Criminal Courts of Justice in Parkgate Street. Um he will be most likely there will be road closures and he will be driven out speed to that particular location. And once he enters the confines of the court building, He will be formally charged with this charge of directing a criminal organization before he's brought up to the courtroom.
00:04:15
S1: And what will happen then, Paul? Is he expected to be remanded in custody.
00:04:20
S2: So Mr. Keenan will almost certainly be remanded into custody. Yes, on a charge of this particular severity before the Special Criminal Court. That would be the precedent. He is entitled to legal representation, which he will have. It would be a very, very brief court appearance. So he'll be brought up into the dock. There will be three judges of the Special Criminal Court present, and a senior member of a gang. Will will then present the evidence of the arrest charge and caution of Mr. McKinnon, which would have only happened moments before. And once we've heard those particular details, he will be most likely remanded into custody and taken to Port Leash Prison.
00:04:58
S1: Do we know anything about when a trial is likely to take place?
00:05:03
S2: So this, this this is going to be a lengthy process. In the case of Sean McGovern, he was brought back, I think, in May of last year and ultimately earlier this year. I think in April he pleaded guilty and spared the state a trial. But that's kind of roughly the length of time that that particular process took. And this will be something similar. Um, but it may be even longer. We were we've always been told from sources that this particular file which was sent to the DPP is a particularly lengthy one. And there are a lot of allegations in it. So there will be a lot of time for Mr. Keenan's defence counsel and for the prosecution to put all of the paperwork together. The book of evidence will have to be presented. So you're talking mid next year, maybe even into late next year before we're talking about a trial date in this case.
00:05:51
S1: Okay. Crime correspondent with the Irish Daily Mirror and Irish Daily Star Paul Healy, thanks very much for bringing us up to date with that story. Well, in the past few minutes, the Minister for justice, Jim O'Callaghan, has issued a statement in relation to the extradition of Daniel Kinahan. He's expressed Ireland's deep appreciation for the support of the United Arab Emirates in handling the extradition request and commended the professionalism, efficiency and diligence demonstrated by the UAE judicial authorities throughout the extradition proceedings. He said the decision was another landmark judicial cooperation between the two countries and reflects the strength of the partnership to address transnational organised crime while staying with that story. Now, former Assistant Garda Commissioner Michael O'Sullivan, who was also head of the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau during the height of the Kinnon feud, joins us now on the line. Michael. Good afternoon.
00:06:51
S3: Good afternoon.
00:06:52
S1: How much of a blow is this extradition? Such a high profile figure to the Kinahan crime group, do you think?
00:07:00
S3: Yeah. Well, obviously, I don't want to get into specifics because it's because it's it's before the courts and it's subdued to say. But speaking in general terms, it's a massive blow to not just the Kinahan organised crime group. It's a massive blow to um, criminals and transnational criminals with Irish, uh, with Irish people involved in general. Why? Because it's a complete game changer. Once the UAE acceded to the extradition, once they had an agreement. You see, in the past, there's a fallback plan by a lot of Irish criminals, and that is that if things get too hot in Ireland or they make enough money, the fallback plan or even the retirement plan was let's go to Dubai and live off our ill gotten gains. That door has closed now. So that's a huge it's a huge it's a huge blow to them. They're going to have to look for a different place to go to. And they realize now the world has has become a smaller place from a law enforcement perspective.
00:07:59
S1: As you say, that extradition treaty between the UAE and Ireland has been key in bringing them home. And of course, this follows on from another major setback for the gang when Sean McGovern was jailed for 24 years just in June. Remind us who he was and why he was jailed.
00:08:15
S3: Yeah. Sean McGovern was an integral part of the Clinton organized crime group. Uh, and and was in or around the Regency when it happened and was probably lucky to have escaped with his life. And he was a trusted confidant of some of the senior managers, for want of a better term of the Kinahan OCG. And he fled to the UAE. And I would presume when he fled there, um, he never thought he would be brought back. And a subsequent investigation, uh, gathered information and gathered evidence, and an extradition warrant was sent to the UAE. And as as we've seen, he was sent back. And that was a big that was sort of a clarion call for those people out there. They began to realize, look, our world out here is falling apart.
00:09:02
S1: So a huge blow to criminals. And what message do you think the extradition of McGovern and Daniel Kinahan then sends to organized crime groups outside Ireland?
00:09:14
S3: It sends it sends a huge message. It shows. It shows a number of things. It shows the resilience of an economy like the Regency is ten years old now at this stage and and the feud that followed it. So it shows that investigations don't stop, that they keep going, that the guards are relentless in the pursuit of criminals, no matter where they go, how far they go, and they are consistently and proactively seeking criminals out and seeking extradition agreements with countries that don't normally have extradition agreements. In the past, we have we've got a European arrest warrant, which, you know, a lot of these guys would have fled Europe to go to the UAE because it was safe. It's now no longer safe. So organized crime gang members, not just Irish ones, but those who commit offences in relation to Ireland and really have to sit up and think and worry.
00:10:11
S1: You mentioned the Regency hotel attack there. You have widespread experience in dealing with gangland crime. You investigated that that attack in February 2016. Daniel Kiernan was lucky to escape with his life then, wasn't he?
00:10:25
S3: Yeah he was. And as your listeners I'm sure will know, a number of armed men dressed as guards with bulletproof vests and carrying Kalashnikovs went in and they went in with the sole purpose of executing a number of people. And, you know, their plan just went slightly away. And the targets, unfortunately, one man was killed, but the targets fled through an exit door. Had they not, several people would have been killed. So they were very, very fortunate, including Daniel Keenan and others who managed to get out.
00:10:58
S1: When it comes to fighting organised crime, Michael Resourcing is a huge element, isn't it? Our guy? The specialist units, do you think sufficiently resourced, especially when it comes to things like technology?
00:11:11
S3: Yeah, well, certainly from a technological perspective they are very well resourced and you know, but overall the guards are maybe two, 2500. Uh, they require another two, two, and a half thousand people so that that shortfall takes place not just in specialized units. And it takes a, it takes effect in uniform, uh, people on the beat, etc.. So the shortage of guards in general in, within the organization will have a sort of a detrimental effect on operations. But despite that, um, you know, I would certainly say specialist units are certainly boxing well above their weight at this stage.
00:11:52
S1: So Daniel Keenan is on his way home to Ireland now this afternoon. How much planning goes into an operation like this to get him home?
00:12:01
S3: Well, a huge amount of planning, not just the legal planning, the the, the administration of justice, the procedures and the processes of lining up, um, the courts and the arrests and the documents and have having everything quality assured. Then you have the other side of it, which is the security side of it. And, you know, um, since the Regency, the Regency was a milestone in criminal history, I suppose. It brought criminal violence up a notch. When you have that number of men running around with machine guns and AK 47 seconds, it showed what criminal groups they had become so confident, so well resourced through the sale of drugs that they were capable of coming into a hotel in the middle of the day, you know, with those sort of arms, and they would have confronted the guards or anybody else. So when you see that sort of thing happening, it's always in the back of your mind. If you're from a security perspective that, you know, nobody would have thought before February of 2016 that that sort of thing would have happened. But because of the audacity of them and the, their sort of emboldened now at this stage that they're capable of anything. So you really have to tie down the security aspects of it and have it really, really structured and really very strong.
00:13:19
S1: Okay. Former Assistant Garda Commissioner Michael O'Sullivan, thank you very much for taking the time to speak to us on the This Week programme this afternoon.
S1: Well. Daniel Kinahan is due back on Irish soil this evening after being extradited on the government jet from Dubai. He was previously identified in the High Court as a senior figure in organised crime on a global scale, and in 2022, the US government offered rewards of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrests of three alleged Kinahan cartel members. 49 year old Daniel Kinahan was arrested in Dubai or under a warrant issued by the Irish courts, and his plane is due to land at Casement Aerodrome in Baldonnel in the coming hours. Well, crime correspondent with the Irish Daily Mirror and Irish Daily star Paul Healy has been following the story closely. And he joins me now on the line. Paul. Good afternoon.
00:00:48
S2: Good afternoon.
00:00:49
S1: Daniel Kinahan on his way back to Ireland. Now how significant is this for the Garda investigation into the Kinahan organisation? Do you think.
00:00:58
S2: This is a hugely significant operation? Um, this is the first time, maybe ever, in the history of the state, that the government is being used for this type of situation. This is an operation that the state has been carefully planning over the past number of weeks, ever since Daniel Kinahan was first arrested in Dubai in April of this year. So the plane is currently in the air. As I'm speaking to you right now, it's just approaching Turkey. There's about five or 5.5 hours left in the journey, and we understand that it's a Irish Air Corps operated Dassault Falcon. Uh, it's known as a strategic reach jet. Um, and it was purchased for 53 million last year, but we more commonly know it as the government jet. It's usually used to ferry ministers and the Taoiseach around the globe, but can also be used in emergency situations. Um but this is a first for, for any kind of use of this type of plane. And it really speaks to the level of security concerns on this operation.
00:01:57
S1: And as you were saying, this is a very carefully planned, meticulous operation, a huge garda presence on board. What does that tell us, Paul, about the level of concern around the security operation?
00:02:11
S2: Well, Daniel Kinahan, as you mentioned, at the top of the show, is considered to be the leader of an organised crime group, the Kinahan organised crime group. And that brings with it a lot of security concerns, not only for his own safety, but for the safety of the officers who are transporting him, and they have to be sure that he is kept safe at all times. So he would have assessed ahead of time this particular operation. And they've obviously determined that the government jet, which, you know, it can be flown direct from Dubai straight to Dublin without any stops, that that that's the best use for this particular type of operation. There have been previous in relation to Sean McGovern, the alleged right hand man of Daniel Kinahan. He was brought back on a C 295 which which has to stop twice. So they've obviously determined that this particular jet, which can travel much quicker, is a better use of their time. And when the jet actually arrives in Casement Aerodrome later this evening, there will be a heavily armed presence there. So my understanding is there will be members of the Garda Armed Support Unit, the Emergency Response Unit, and obviously there will be members also of the National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau. So they are the the bureau that are leading this particular investigation into Daniel Keenan.
00:03:20
S1: So a huge operation on the ground here in Dublin as well. How quickly could Daniel Keenan be before the Special Criminal Court when he lands later?
00:03:29
S2: Yes. So this will be pretty immediate. The moment that the jet actually arrives, Keenan will be formally arrested on the tarmac in relation to the charge, which is directing a criminal organization. He will be taken most likely, although we're not privy to all of the details of the security operation. I suppose if we were, it wouldn't be that effective. But if we're going by precedent, um, he will be brought in an unmarked Garda vehicle, uh, in a in a convoy straight to the special Criminal courts or the Criminal Courts of Justice in Parkgate Street. Um he will be most likely there will be road closures and he will be driven out speed to that particular location. And once he enters the confines of the court building, He will be formally charged with this charge of directing a criminal organization before he's brought up to the courtroom.
00:04:15
S1: And what will happen then, Paul? Is he expected to be remanded in custody.
00:04:20
S2: So Mr. Keenan will almost certainly be remanded into custody. Yes, on a charge of this particular severity before the Special Criminal Court. That would be the precedent. He is entitled to legal representation, which he will have. It would be a very, very brief court appearance. So he'll be brought up into the dock. There will be three judges of the Special Criminal Court present, and a senior member of a gang. Will will then present the evidence of the arrest charge and caution of Mr. McKinnon, which would have only happened moments before. And once we've heard those particular details, he will be most likely remanded into custody and taken to Port Leash Prison.
00:04:58
S1: Do we know anything about when a trial is likely to take place?
00:05:03
S2: So this, this this is going to be a lengthy process. In the case of Sean McGovern, he was brought back, I think, in May of last year and ultimately earlier this year. I think in April he pleaded guilty and spared the state a trial. But that's kind of roughly the length of time that that particular process took. And this will be something similar. Um, but it may be even longer. We were we've always been told from sources that this particular file which was sent to the DPP is a particularly lengthy one. And there are a lot of allegations in it. So there will be a lot of time for Mr. Keenan's defence counsel and for the prosecution to put all of the paperwork together. The book of evidence will have to be presented. So you're talking mid next year, maybe even into late next year before we're talking about a trial date in this case.
00:05:51
S1: Okay. Crime correspondent with the Irish Daily Mirror and Irish Daily Star Paul Healy, thanks very much for bringing us up to date with that story. Well, in the past few minutes, the Minister for justice, Jim O'Callaghan, has issued a statement in relation to the extradition of Daniel Kinahan. He's expressed Ireland's deep appreciation for the support of the United Arab Emirates in handling the extradition request and commended the professionalism, efficiency and diligence demonstrated by the UAE judicial authorities throughout the extradition proceedings. He said the decision was another landmark judicial cooperation between the two countries and reflects the strength of the partnership to address transnational organised crime while staying with that story. Now, former Assistant Garda Commissioner Michael O'Sullivan, who was also head of the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau during the height of the Kinnon feud, joins us now on the line. Michael. Good afternoon.
00:06:51
S3: Good afternoon.
00:06:52
S1: How much of a blow is this extradition? Such a high profile figure to the Kinahan crime group, do you think?
00:07:00
S3: Yeah. Well, obviously, I don't want to get into specifics because it's because it's it's before the courts and it's subdued to say. But speaking in general terms, it's a massive blow to not just the Kinahan organised crime group. It's a massive blow to um, criminals and transnational criminals with Irish, uh, with Irish people involved in general. Why? Because it's a complete game changer. Once the UAE acceded to the extradition, once they had an agreement. You see, in the past, there's a fallback plan by a lot of Irish criminals, and that is that if things get too hot in Ireland or they make enough money, the fallback plan or even the retirement plan was let's go to Dubai and live off our ill gotten gains. That door has closed now. So that's a huge it's a huge it's a huge blow to them. They're going to have to look for a different place to go to. And they realize now the world has has become a smaller place from a law enforcement perspective.
00:07:59
S1: As you say, that extradition treaty between the UAE and Ireland has been key in bringing them home. And of course, this follows on from another major setback for the gang when Sean McGovern was jailed for 24 years just in June. Remind us who he was and why he was jailed.
00:08:15
S3: Yeah. Sean McGovern was an integral part of the Clinton organized crime group. Uh, and and was in or around the Regency when it happened and was probably lucky to have escaped with his life. And he was a trusted confidant of some of the senior managers, for want of a better term of the Kinahan OCG. And he fled to the UAE. And I would presume when he fled there, um, he never thought he would be brought back. And a subsequent investigation, uh, gathered information and gathered evidence, and an extradition warrant was sent to the UAE. And as as we've seen, he was sent back. And that was a big that was sort of a clarion call for those people out there. They began to realize, look, our world out here is falling apart.
00:09:02
S1: So a huge blow to criminals. And what message do you think the extradition of McGovern and Daniel Kinahan then sends to organized crime groups outside Ireland?
00:09:14
S3: It sends it sends a huge message. It shows. It shows a number of things. It shows the resilience of an economy like the Regency is ten years old now at this stage and and the feud that followed it. So it shows that investigations don't stop, that they keep going, that the guards are relentless in the pursuit of criminals, no matter where they go, how far they go, and they are consistently and proactively seeking criminals out and seeking extradition agreements with countries that don't normally have extradition agreements. In the past, we have we've got a European arrest warrant, which, you know, a lot of these guys would have fled Europe to go to the UAE because it was safe. It's now no longer safe. So organized crime gang members, not just Irish ones, but those who commit offences in relation to Ireland and really have to sit up and think and worry.
00:10:11
S1: You mentioned the Regency hotel attack there. You have widespread experience in dealing with gangland crime. You investigated that that attack in February 2016. Daniel Kiernan was lucky to escape with his life then, wasn't he?
00:10:25
S3: Yeah he was. And as your listeners I'm sure will know, a number of armed men dressed as guards with bulletproof vests and carrying Kalashnikovs went in and they went in with the sole purpose of executing a number of people. And, you know, their plan just went slightly away. And the targets, unfortunately, one man was killed, but the targets fled through an exit door. Had they not, several people would have been killed. So they were very, very fortunate, including Daniel Keenan and others who managed to get out.
00:10:58
S1: When it comes to fighting organised crime, Michael Resourcing is a huge element, isn't it? Our guy? The specialist units, do you think sufficiently resourced, especially when it comes to things like technology?
00:11:11
S3: Yeah, well, certainly from a technological perspective they are very well resourced and you know, but overall the guards are maybe two, 2500. Uh, they require another two, two, and a half thousand people so that that shortfall takes place not just in specialized units. And it takes a, it takes effect in uniform, uh, people on the beat, etc.. So the shortage of guards in general in, within the organization will have a sort of a detrimental effect on operations. But despite that, um, you know, I would certainly say specialist units are certainly boxing well above their weight at this stage.
00:11:52
S1: So Daniel Keenan is on his way home to Ireland now this afternoon. How much planning goes into an operation like this to get him home?
00:12:01
S3: Well, a huge amount of planning, not just the legal planning, the the, the administration of justice, the procedures and the processes of lining up, um, the courts and the arrests and the documents and have having everything quality assured. Then you have the other side of it, which is the security side of it. And, you know, um, since the Regency, the Regency was a milestone in criminal history, I suppose. It brought criminal violence up a notch. When you have that number of men running around with machine guns and AK 47 seconds, it showed what criminal groups they had become so confident, so well resourced through the sale of drugs that they were capable of coming into a hotel in the middle of the day, you know, with those sort of arms, and they would have confronted the guards or anybody else. So when you see that sort of thing happening, it's always in the back of your mind. If you're from a security perspective that, you know, nobody would have thought before February of 2016 that that sort of thing would have happened. But because of the audacity of them and the, their sort of emboldened now at this stage that they're capable of anything. So you really have to tie down the security aspects of it and have it really, really structured and really very strong.
00:13:19
S1: Okay. Former Assistant Garda Commissioner Michael O'Sullivan, thank you very much for taking the time to speak to us on the This Week programme this afternoon.
