Armed police guard courthouse as crowds gather for brief hearing.
Alleged Irish crime gang leader Daniel Kinahan was charged by Dublin prosecutors on Sunday with directing a criminal organisation, following his extradition from the United Arab Emirates. The charge was brought during a specially convened court hearing held under tight security.
Kinahan, who was arrested in Dubai in April, was identified by US authorities in 2022 as one of three alleged leaders of the Kinahan Organised Crime Group. The US government had offered a $5 million reward for information leading to the arrests of the group’s leaders.
Kinahan was handed over to Irish authorities in Dubai early on Sunday before being flown on an Irish government aircraft to a military base outside Dublin. He was then taken directly to court for an unusual Sunday night hearing and remanded in custody afterwards.
Dressed in a black hoodie, black trousers and flip-flops, Kinahan told the court he understood the charges. One of the three judges informed him that any bail application would have to be made before the High Court.
“I think we know I won’t be getting bail, but thank you so much for explaining,” he replied.
The hearing was held at Dublin’s non-jury Special Criminal Court, which deals with terrorism and organised crime cases. Armed police guarded the courthouse entrance, while crowds gathered outside and recorded on their phones as unmarked police vehicles left the scene after the brief hearing.
Kinahan, 49, also apologised for appearing without a lawyer, saying he had not had enough time to arrange legal representation and had assumed a family member would do so.
Kinahan moved to Dubai in 2016. A lawyer representing him told the BBC in 2021 that allegations that he was a crime boss were false.
US authorities have described the Kinahan drug-trafficking organisation as one of the world’s most notorious criminal networks. In 2022, the US designated it a significant transnational criminal organisation.
Irish police said at the time that the group had evolved from dealing heroin and cocaine in Dublin during the 1990s into an organisation operating across Europe.
In a joint statement on Sunday, the justice ministers of the UAE and Ireland described Kinahan as one of the most high-profile individuals sought for prosecution over alleged transnational organised crime.
Kinahan is due to appear before the court again on October 5, either in person or via video link.
