DUBAI BYE

Net closing in on Daniel Kinahan & thug pals as Drew Harris says UAE ‘committed’ to helping with ‘contacts continuing’

Commissioner Harris also explained why there have been delays in the extradition of Sean McGovern

• Published: 18:17, 26 Mar 2024
• Updated: 18:17, 26 Mar 2024

• John Hand, News and Crime Correspondent

• Published: Invalid Date,

THE Garda Commissioner believes the UAE are committed to the quest to bring senior Kinahan cartel members to justice as the force’s working relationship with authorities there continues to progress.

Drew Harris was in Dubai three weeks ago where he met with senior police force members and discussed a number of matters as he works on developing an agreement to share information, intelligence and evidence.

But almost two years on from the US Government issuing sanctions against the gang and placing a €5million bounty on the heads of mob boss Daniel Kinahan, 46, his brother Christy Jnr, 43, and their 67-year-old father Christy Snr, the trio are living openly in Dubai.

Thug Sean McGovern – one of Daniel’s closest allies – is also there despite a live European Arrest Warrant for murder in relation to innocent grandfather Noel ‘Duck Egg’ Kirwan’s killing in December 2016.

Asked if he believed the UAE were committed to helping the gardai bring the Kinahans to justice, Commissioner Harris said: “I do. I was recently there only three weeks ago, I met with very senior colleagues and indeed the head of the police service in Dubai.

“We talked on operational matters, not just focused on the Kinahan organised crime group but also then on information and intelligence exchanged and indeed evidence exchange as well

“Those contacts are continuing. We’re a lot further on in terms of our relationship, understanding and joint-working than a year ago.

“The extradition of Sean McGovern is a live issue between our own Government and the authorities there in Dubai. And then other members of the organised crime group obviously then will be a target in turn.”

Harris, speaking at the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors annual conference in Westport, said delays in this whole process are down to the legalities involved.

He added: “They have an extradition process which has to be followed, and I’ve met with judicial figures and they’ve been at pains to explain the rigours of their own process they wish to follow.”

Speaking earlier on Tuesday, Justice Minister Helen McEntee told how her department has ongoing engagement with the UAE over the matter.

She explained: “I am confident that they [Kinahan gang] will face justice, but my objective here is to make sure that we have the right legal structure in place.

Devastated daughter slams Kinahan quartermaster for ‘destroying’ family as role in innocent grandad’s murder revealed

“And what I can assure you is that my colleague who I spoke to in the UAE and their government as a whole, they are absolutely committed to working with us to try and put in place the right legal structures here to make sure that anybody who needs to be brought to justice they can be brought to justice.”

The Director of Public Prosecutions is examining a comprehensive file on Daniel Kinahan in which the gardai have recommended he is charged with directing a crime gang, as he oversaw a campaign of murder during his gang’s feud with the Hutch OCG.

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