'A cartel has deep pockets': Repatriation of crime boss Daniel Kinahan to Ireland being kept 'very tight'

Senior Garda sources said the security measures in place for Kinahan, aged 48, will be at the highest level

'Daniel Kinahan will be the most heavily secured prisoner in the country. His remand and adjournment court appearances will most likely be by video link.' File picture: Colin Keegan/ Collins Dublin

The circle of people with knowledge of security arrangements for the repatriation of crime boss Daniel Kinahan to Ireland is being kept “very tight”, senior sources have said.

A high-level threat and risk assessment is to be carried out on the likely extradition of the Kinahan cartel leader, which will inform the level of security that will be put in place, sources say.

There is uncertainty throughout Garda sections as to when Kinahan will be coming home, with official confirmation awaited from UAE judicial and civilian authorities.

The developments follow reports that Kinahan, who is in custody in Dubai, lost his final appeal against repatriation in the courts.

A range of senior sources told the Irish Examiner the security measures in place for Kinahan, aged 48, will be at the highest level.

“On the ops side, this one will be kept very tight,” one security source said. “There will be no need for anyone else to know or be involved.” 

A second source said: “Daniel Kinahan will be the most heavily secured prisoner in the country. His remand and adjournment court appearances will most likely be by video link.

“If there is any movement for a trial it will be a significant security operation meticulously planned at every inch of the route with air support, ERU, ASU, traffic, DF [Defence Forces], etc.” 

A third source said a detailed threat and risk assessment would be carried out for the actual repatriation to Dublin, transport to the Court of Criminal Justice and delivery to Portlaoise Prison.

"The whole repatriation will be carefully managed," the source said. 

This source said security planning had to consider risks that, while seemingly unlikely, could have a severe impact if they occurred.

“A cartel has deep pockets; you can’t take anything for granted,” the source said.

Insiders in the prison system told the Irish Examiner last April they had significant concerns an armed attempt could be made to break Kinahan out, possibly by hiring in a special team from abroad. 

Prison sources feared a prisoner transport, for example to a hospital, could pose a potential vulnerability for an attack.

They pointed to a dramatic and violent ambush of a prison van in France in May 2024, in which two prison officers were shot dead during the freeing of a gang boss. There was no armed escort in that case.

RTÉ reported on Wednesday the Irish Prison Service has bought a bomb-proof and bulletproof van from Britain in preparation for Kinahan’s return.

For the repatriation, the Air Corps Casa Airbus C-295 will bring members of the Garda Extradition Unit and the Garda Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau to Dubai and transport Kinahan back to Ireland.

Once the plane lands at Baldonnel military airbase in West Dublin, the Garda’s elite Emergency Response Unit will take the lead protecting the convoy as it travels. The Garda airplane and helicopter will provide top cover.

Kinahan lieutenant Sean McGovern was transported from Dubai back to Ireland in a similar fashion. He was jailed last month for 24 years after pleading guilty at the Special Criminal Court to directing a criminal organisation and murder.

McGovern, 40, is housed in a section of A block of Portlaoise Prison — described as “a prison within a prison”. It is most likely where Kinahan would be remanded pending trial.