A Dublin man, Mr Brian Meehan, is expected to be flown back to Ireland from Holland this morning under police guard to face a charge of murdering the journalist Veronica Guerin.
Mr Meehan (33), of Stanaway Road, Crumlin, was arrested in Amsterdam on October 10th last year by Dutch police acting on information from detectives investigating Ms Guerin's murder.
His lawyers exhausted every legal device available to prevent his extradition, claiming that publicity about the case would prevent him from receiving a fair trial.
The Dutch Supreme Court rejected his appeal on June 9th, and on July 15th the Dutch Justice Minister, Ms Winner Sorgdrager, ruled that he should be deported.
The period for appeal against the minister's decision expires at 1 p.m. local time today. An Air Corps aircraft was being prepared early today to fly to Schiphol Airport to collect Mr Meehan, who will be escorted back to Dublin by several detectives from the team investigating the journalist's murder.
It is understood he will be taken to the Special Criminal Court to face a charge of murdering Ms Guerin, who was shot dead on the Naas dual carriageway on June 26th, 1996.
Two men on a motorcycle approached her car as she stopped at traffic lights, and the pillion passenger shot her several times with a revolver. She died instantly.
Ms Guerin is survived by her husband, Mr Graham Turley, and their nine-year-old son, Cahal.
Another man has already been charged with Ms Guerin's murder. Mr Paul Ward (33), of Windmill Park, Crumlin, Dublin, is also expected to appear before the Special Court for trial this autumn.
A third man, Mr John Gilligan (47), of Jessbrook, Kilcock, Co Kildare, is in prison in England.
He is contesting a Garda warrant for his extradition on a charge of murdering Ms Guerin.
Mr Gilligan was arrested at Heathrow Airport, London, in October 1996.
It is expected that the appeal process in his case will not be exhausted until early next year.
Mr Meehan was arrested in the company of another Dublin man, Mr John Traynor (50), after gardai followed a woman from the Crumlin area to Amsterdam.
All three were arrested, but the woman and Mr Traynor were subsequently released.
It is understood Mr Traynor is in the south of Spain.
It is believed that murder charges may be brought against as many as seven people before the investigation is completed.
A large number of additional charges, from firearms and drugs possession to car theft and bribery, are also likely to result from the case.