Kinahan hitman sent to Lithuania to face charge of murdering pop star's lover

Imre Arakas has finished a sentence here for an assassination plot over five years ago that was thwarted by gardaí combating the Kinahan-Hutch feud

Now that Imre Arakas' sentence in Ireland is complete, factoring in one-quarter remission, he can be extradited to Lithuania for trial.

Estonian hitman Imre Arakas has been extradited from Ireland to Lithuania to face trial in relation to the murder of a pop star’s lover.

Arakas has finished a sentence here for an assassination plot over five years ago that was thwarted by gardaí combating the Kinahan-Hutch feud.

The now 64-year-old was hired by the Kinahan cartel to assassinate a senior figure in the Hutch crime network but was arrested by specialist gardaí shortly after landing in Ireland in April 2017.

He was sentenced to six years in December 2018 after pleading guilty to conspiracy to murder James ‘Mago’ Gately in the North between April 3 and April 4, 2017.

Now that his sentence in Ireland is complete, factoring in one-quarter remission, he can be extradited to Lithuania for trial.

The High Court ruled last November that he could be surrendered to Lithuania on foot of a European Arrest Warrant sent to Ireland.

In a statement on Wednesday evening, Garda HQ said: “Earlier today, 4 January 2022, members of the Garda Extradition Unit, Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, surrendered an Estonian male (60s) to the Lithuanian authorities at Dublin Airport.

“The male was extradited on foot of a European Arrest Warrant issued by the Lithuanian authorities in relation to an incident in November 2015.”

Charges

He will face charges of murder, firearms, and conspiracy-related charges for the fatal shooting of Deimantas Bugavicius in November 2015. He was having an affair with Lithuanian pop star Vita Jakutiene.

Arakas was arrested on April 4, 2017, after a team from the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (DOCB) swooped on a house in west Dublin, aided by elite armed units.

He had flown into the country, from Alicante, Spain, only the previous day.

Arakas was a member of one of a number of ‘hit teams’ assembled by the Kinahan organised crime gang to murder associates of the Hutch gang.

The Special Criminal Court heard that Arakas had boasted to his associates in coded text messages that he would take out his target with "one shot to the head".

The contract killer bought a wig in Dublin City and used an encrypted Blackberry phone to receive information about the movements and location of James Gately in the North. He also requested a silencer.

In what was fundamental to his prosecution, a DOCB officer, Garda Sean O’Neill, photographed a thread of text messages regarding the plan to kill Mr Gately that were open on Arakas’ encrypted phone when officers raided the house in west Dublin.

The DOCB knew the messages could be removed remotely on such phones.

Extradition

Arakas' legal team fought attempts by Lithuanian authorities to have him extradited.

The authorities alleged Arakas supplied two 9mm handguns and provided clothes and chemical cleaning substances to others before the shooting of Mr Bugavicius.

In the ]High Court last November
[/url, Mr Justice Paul Burns said there was no ambiguity in the warrant received from Lithuania for Arakas’ surrender.

He said additional information had been supplied stating that Arakas was to be tried with murder, possession of weapons, and criminal damage.

He said the detail, time, and location of the alleged offences had been supplied and there was no issue with those offences not corresponding with Irish law.

Arakas is alleged to have been part of a three-man gang that conspired to murder Mr Bugavicius.