Sean McGovern, one of the senior figures in the Kinahan cartel based in Dubai, is being extradited from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after being in detention there since late last year.
The Dubliner (39) was on a Defence Forces flight, on an Air Corps Airbus C295, on Wednesday evening. The flight left Al Maktoum International Airport at 8pm Irish time. As the plane must refuel several times, it is not expected to arrive in Ireland until late on Thursday.
The plane departed Casement Aerodrome, Co Kildare, on Monday for the outward journey. McGovern was on Wednesday night being escorted by Garda members and Defence Forces personnel in an operation that was closely guarded secret.
News the extradition was taking place only emerged after the plane had taken off from the UAE. The authorities in Ireland feared advance publicity may have derailed the operation on the UAE side.
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On arrival in Ireland, McGovern is due to be brought before the Special Criminal Court to be remanded in custody pending trial for murder, and directing organised crime, linked to the Kinahan-Hutch feud.
McGovern is the first senior cartel figure to be arrested in Dubai and extradited from there. His extradition will now increase confidence within Government and the Garda the UAE is willing to also act against cartel founder Christy Kinahan Senior and his sons, Daniel and Christopher.
When he was arrested, there was no extradition agreement in place between UAE and Ireland or the EU. His extradition is taking place as a once-off legal arrangement between UAE and Ireland. Since his arrest, however, a permanent extradition agreement between the two countries has been agreed for future cases.
McGovern, who was injured in the Regency Hotel shooting in 2016, is wanted in the State to face charges over the December 2016 murder of Noel Kirwan (62), an innocent man gunned down because he was linked to the Hutch family, some of whom were friends of his.
Arrested in the early hours of Thursday, October 10th, at his home in Dubai, McGovern had been living openly there for several years, apparently in the belief he would not be detained by the UAE authorities who have been slow to move against westerners at the behest of their home countries.
He was one of seven leading figures in the Kinahan cartel sanctioned by the US authorities in 2022. He was described by the US Department of the Treasury as “Daniel Kinahan’s adviser and closest confidant”. It further stated that “evidence indicates that all dealings with Daniel Kinahan go through Sean McGovern”.
He had also “managed communications on behalf of Daniel Kinahan, and he sells multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine”. He had just one known passport at the time, which was Irish, and the only one address listed in Dubai.
A European arrest warrant had been issued for him and he was described by Interpol as one of Ireland’s most wanted criminals.
McGovern’s house in Crumlin, Dublin, was seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau in 2019. It has been boarded up ever since as work crews who went to the property to prepare it for Dublin City Council tenants were threatened.
