Leaders of the Kenahan drug gang extradition from the UAE to Ireland | Ireland

The leaders of the infamous Kinahan organized crime group have flew from the United Arab Emirates to Ireland during the first extradition of similar products.

An Irish military aircraft carries Sean McGovern, who is wanted for murder and commanding organized crime – will land in Dublin during heavy safety Thursday afternoon.

The 39-year-old has been detained in Dubai since October when he was detained by Interpol's Red Notice, a request to law enforcement agencies to locate and temporarily arrest the suspect, pending extradition or similar legal action.

McGovern was appointed as a senior member of Kinahan Cartel at the Irish Special Criminal Court, who was wanted for the murder of Noel Kirwan, an innocent man who had a feud between Kinahan and Hutch criminal gangs in 2016 and was shot dead in Dublin in 2016.

UAE authorities handed McGovern to Gardi on Wednesday, after which he was placed in an Irish Airbus C295. After landing at CASEMENT airport, McGovern is expected to be armed into armed guards of the Special Criminal Court.

Deputy Commissioner of the Irish Police Force An Garda Síochána said this is a major development for international law enforcement. “Transnational organized criminal gangs cause pain not only in Ireland, but around the world. They engage in murder, human trafficking and drug dealing.”

Ireland's Attorney General Jim O'Callaghan thanked his Abdullah bin Sultan bin Awad al Nuaimi for their cooperation with Dubai police.

The UAE has become a base for Irish criminals and colleagues, partly because the state has no extradition treaty with the EU. But a decade of lobbying by Irish officials paved the way for an extradition treaty that went into operation on May 18.

It is not retrospective and does not apply to McGovern, but authorities in both jurisdictions have made separate, one-time arrangements to transfer suspects. McGovern was shot dead in the stomach when he rushed into a Kinahan's organized boxing match in a Dublin hotel in 2016.

Irish authorities also hope to extradite the gang’s founder Christy Kinahan, as well as his sons Daniel and Christopher, who are believed to be in Dubai.

British police say Kinahan Cartel initially carried out a low-level street trading operation in the 1980s, where he flooded the UK with guns and drugs. In 2022, the United States announced sanctions on alleged leaders of the Kenahan Gang and provided a $5 million reward for information resulting in arrest or conviction.