Kinahan associate Seán McGovern extradited from UAE
One of the main members of the Kinahan crime cartel has been extradited by the United Arab Emirates back to Ireland to face murder and organised crime charges.
US authorities say Seán McGovern, 39, is the right-hand man of Daniel Kinahan.
He was being flown back from the UAE by the Air Corps on Wednesday night, according to reports. Seán McGovern. Pic: An Garda Síochána
He was arrested and held in a Dubai prison for the past seven months but had been fighting his extradition on grounds that he had been arrested prior to a treaty being put in place between Ireland and the UAE. The treaty was signed by former justice minister Helen McEntee a week after his arrest.
He becomes the first person to be extradited under the treaty in a case that gardaí are hoping will be just the start of the Kinahan gang facing justice.
McGovern, from Drimnagh, south Dublin, is a convicted drug dealer and is wanted on charges relating to the murder of innocent man Noel Kirwan, who was shot outside his home in west Dublin in December 2016. Mr Kirwan was targeted as part of the Hutch-Kinahan feud after he was photographed next to Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch at Hutch's brother Eddie's funeral. McGovern is also wanted on organised crime charges. It is expected he will appear before the Special Criminal Court and will be remanded in custody ahead of a trial.
In 2022, the US Department of the Treasury said of McGovern that he is 'Daniel Kinahan's adviser and closest confidant, and evidence indicates that all dealings with Daniel Kinahan go through Seán McGovern… He sells multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine.'
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