Net closes on Kinahan cartel as Justice Minister set to open extradition negotiations with UAE

The Minister will formally open extradition facilities with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) following Cabinet approval

Justice Minister Helen McEntee is set to open extradition negotiations with the United Arab Emirates as the net tightens on Kinahan cartel.

The Minister will today seek Cabinet approval to open formal negotiations with the United Arab Emirates on new extradition and mutual legal assistance treaties.

A source close to Minister McEntee last night said: “This process is about putting those at the top of organised crime behind bars and holding them responsible for their actions.

“Tackling organised crime is a key priority for Government and is central to building safer, stronger communities.”

It follows a recent meeting she held with her UAE counterpart, Minister for Justice Abdullah Bin Sultan Awad Al Nuaimi.

This also followed high level engagement between Garda Commissioner Drew Harris and the UAE authorities, including his visit to Dubai in recent weeks to meet with Lieutenant General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri.

The Irish Mirror understands that Minister McEntee will tell Cabinet that bilateral treaties between Ireland and the UAE on mutual legal assistance and extradition would be of “significant support in tackling organised crime and transnational drug trafficking gangs.”

It’s believed Minister McEntee will also tell her colleagues that it is “important that criminals see there can be no hiding place from the law,” and that the State will “do everything in its power to bring those who spread misery in our communities to justice.”

A number of otherEU Member States already have bilateral mutual legal assistance and extradition treaties in place with the UAE.

A Department of Justice source said that “the experience of EU partners has been that bilateral cooperation on existing individual cases can continue on a reciprocal basis while the treaties are being negotiated.”

Last year, the Government approved the expansion of the Garda Liaison Officer Network, following a request from the Garda Commissioner.

This expansion created two new posts for Garda Liaison Officers; the first in Abu Dhabi and the second in Bangkok.

These posts are in addition to existing positions situated in Madrid, Paris, London, The Hague, Washington DC and Bogota.

The Department of Justice considers the deployment of Garda Liaison Officers as “an effective and practical form of interagency cooperation between police services.”

It has already supported the exchange of information and the coordination of operations across borders to help tackle international and Irish crime.