Suspected Kinahan crime gang leader appears in British court following extradition

Liam Byrne, originally from Dublin, was arrested in Spain earlier this year 

Liam Byrne, alleged Kinahan gang member, arrested by the UK National Crime Agency.

A suspected leader of the Kinahan organised crime group has been extradited to Britain to stand trial for alleged firearms offences.

Liam Byrne, aged 42, who is originally from Dublin, was arrested in Spain earlier this year. 

He has been investigated by the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA).

He was escorted back to Britain by a team of officers from the NCA’s Joint International Crime Centre on Tuesday.

Mr Byrne appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court on Wednesday, where he was remanded into custody.

Mr Byrne was arrested in June while eating in a restaurant in the Alcudia area of Mallorca.

He had flown into Palma Airport from Dubai, UAE, on May 26.

The NCA’s intelligence-led investigation was supported by the Spanish national police and officers from An Garda Síochána.

The agency obtained arrest warrants after messages on encrypted messaging service Encrochat indicated that Mr Byrne allegedly was potentially involved in the supply and acquisition of firearms.

Craig Turner, deputy director of investigations at the NCA, said: “The arrest and extradition of Liam Byrne highlights the NCA’s ongoing work to target the alleged criminal activities of the Kinahan organised crime group.

“He will now be remanded in custody until his next court appearance, which is scheduled for January 8, 2024."

Another suspected member of the crime group, Jack Kavanagh, aged 23, from Tamworth, Staffordshire, who was arrested by officers from the Spanish national police on May 30 at Malaga Airport, while transiting from Dubai to Turkey, remains in custody in Spain awaiting extradition.

Liam Byrne is a notorious figure in gangland Ireland who gardaí say led the Kinahan cartel’s Irish operations for years.

He had tried to fight the recent extradition order from Spain to the UK, claiming a risk of inhumane or degrading treatment. But a Spanish court rejected his plea and granted extradition.

His brother David Byrne was shot dead in the bloody Regency Hotel attack in 2016.

Daniel Kinahan is believed to have been the target of that infamous attack, which sparked the deadly Kinahan-Hutch feud, leaving 18 people dead, including innocent people who were mistaken for gang members by the killers.

Mr Byrne, from Crumlin, was investigated by the Criminal Assets Bureau which seized some €2m in assets from the gang.

He is a first cousin of convicted gangland murderer ‘Fat’ Freddie Thompson.