Daniel Kinahan will “certainly” be detained in Portlaoise, where many of his cartel colleagues are currently in custody, a journalist has predicted. 

The notorious gangland leader has lost his final appeal against extradition to Ireland from the United Arab Emirates and is expected back in Ireland within the next six weeks. 

Once he arrives, there is only one place crime experts believe he will be held while on remand. 

“Portlaoise will certainly be the remand prison if Daniel Kinahan is flown back,” Ralph Riegel of the Irish Independent told The Claire Byrne Show. 

“He will almost certainly be kept in Portlaoise, which, of course, has a long record of experience of dealing with high security cases, whether they be paramilitaries or whether they be organised criminal elements.”

The prison is where many members of the Kinahan Organised Crime Group are serving their sentences; including Sean McGovern, who was recently sentenced to 24 years behind bars. 

Another advantage of Portlaoise is that it reduces the chance of a violent clash with members of the Hutch Organised Crime Gang, who are generally held at Wheatfield in Dublin. 

Return to Ireland

Kinahan fled from Ireland to Spain after the Regency Hotel Attack in 2016, eventually moving on to Dubai amid increased scrutiny of his criminal activities. 

The location was chosen in part because the UAE had no extradition treaty with Ireland - something that changed in 2024. 

In April, Kinahan was arrested and while he has "vigorously contested” his extradition, all appeal options have now been exhausted. 

“This was his last port of appeal,” Mr Riegel said. 

“So, having lost that now, the whole extradition process commences.

“We expect it to take very much the same form as that of Sean McGovern, who was returned to Ireland in May 2025, also from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. 

“In that particular case, what happened was an Air Corps plane made its way to Dubai and brought Sean McGovern back directly to Ireland to face court proceedings.”

Sean McGovern. Image: An Garda Síochána

Once back in Ireland, he will likely be taken straight to the Central Criminal Court and charged. 

Given the serious nature of the allegations against him, he will then be denied bail and remanded in custody. 

“It would probably involve various charges in respect of organised criminal activity,” Mr Riegel predicted. 

“If you look at Sean McGovern, I think there was one charge under Section 72 of the Act in terms of directing criminal activity and being a member of an organised criminal group. 

“We would expect that it would be those types of charges; obviously, any trial will take place in very, very high security.”

Main imae: Daniel Kinahan. Picture by: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin