A flight operated by the Irish Air Corps is scheduled to make a minimum of two stops on its route back to Dublin.
Authorities believe Sean McGovern from Drimnagh serves as the right-hand man to Daniel Kinahan, with the US Treasury Department accusing him of being involved in the distribution of “multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine” for the cartel.
Since his arrest in October of the previous year, McGovern has been in custody in Dubai.
He had previously sought legal recourse against the extradition proceedings.
In addition to this, he faces charges related to organized crime in Ireland.
His arrest followed extensive discussions involving gardaí, Interpol, and law enforcement agencies from both Dubai and Ireland.
A European arrest warrant was issued in April 2022 by the High Court for McGovern to address criminal accusations in Ireland.
The authorities in the UAE initially did not respond to the warrant, prompting a formal request from Ireland’s Department of Justice to their UAE counterparts.
McGovern’s arrest represents a crucial step for gardaí as they target the leadership of the Kinahan cartel.
Since 2022, law enforcement has focused on the extradition of McGovern because, unlike other cartel leaders, he is facing specific criminal charges.
Gardaí wish to file charges against him concerning the murder of Noel ‘Duck Egg’ Kirwan, aged 62, who was fatally shot six times while seated in his car on December 22, 2016, at St Ronan’s Drive in Clondalkin, Dublin.
Kirwan was allegedly targeted due to suspected connections with the Hutch family, who were engaged in a conflict with the Kinahan cartel at the time.
A document asserted that McGovern ‘is Daniel Kinahan’s adviser and closest confidant.’
McGovern, a convicted drug dealer, sustained minor injuries during the Regency Hotel incident in February 2016, when the Kinahan group was attacked by rival members of the Hutch gang.
In court testimony related to the trial of Michael Crotty, accused of facilitating Kirwan’s murder by providing a mobile phone top-up for McGovern, he was identified by Detective Superintendent David Gallagher.
McGovern has also been named as a significant figure due to the US sanctions imposed against the Kinahan Organized Crime Group.
The US Treasury documentation details McGovern’s connections with the cartel, claiming that he was involved with a front company used for money laundering.
McGovern was “designated for materially assisting, sponsoring or providing financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, Daniel Kinahan.”
The documentation supports claims that McGovern “is Daniel Kinahan’s adviser and closest confidant, and all dealings with Daniel Kinahan go through Sean McGovern. Sean McGovern has also managed communications on behalf of Daniel Kinahan, and he sells multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine.”