Daniel Kinahan is likely to be housed with his alleged cartel colleagues in Portlaoise Prison, a journalist has predicted.
The alleged crime boss was arrested last week in the United Arab Emirates after an international arrest warrant was issued by Irish courts.
Gardaí confirmed they were aware of Kinahan’s arrest, which followed years of investigation and negotiations by the Irish State with UAE authorities.
On Newstalk Breakfast, Michael Doyle of the Irish Sun said it is unlikely Kinahan will be put on a plane to Ireland for some time, as he is expected to contest his extradition.
“It'll be very hard for him to stop that, of course,” he predicted.
“This warrant was issued by a court in Ireland, this international arrest warrant.
“So they would not have issued it unless they knew the structures were in place for that extradition to take place.
“This is not normally a short process; it could be a few months down the line before this actually takes place.”
Daniel Kinahan.While there have been high profile extraditions of gangland crime figures to Ireland before - such as John Gilligan from Britain - Kinahan’s would be the most high profile.
Not only has he been a high profile figure in the murky world of Irish crime for decades, he is also wanted by the United States.
“Nothing will ever compare to the extradition of Daniel Kinahan whenever that takes place,” Mr Doyle said.
“This is one of the most senior figures in organised crime around the world; his kind of infamy has grown to such a level over the past decade that it's hard to fathom any person, any Irish person in the past reached the levels that he has reached.
“But it will be a massive, massive operation, the security operation, whenever that takes place.”
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Most likely, Kinahan will be escorted onto an Irish Air Corps flight, flown back to Dublin, bundled into a Garda van and then driven to the Special Criminal Court.
There he will be charged and then most likely taken to Portaloise, where he can expect to see a number of familiar faces.
“Portlaoise is Ireland's only maximum security prison,” Mr Doyle explained.
“Since the feud kicked off between the Kinahan and the Hutches a decade ago, members of the Kinahan faction, like people close to them, their allies, have all been housed in Portlaoise.
“While members of the Hutch faction at various stages have been kept in Wheatfield.
“They've of course kept them all apart, but we certainly expect Daniel Kinahan to go to Portlaoise whenever that takes place.
“There are people already close to him, who are already in that prison at the moment.”
A sign at the entrance to the Midland Prison Portlaoise. Picture by: Eamonn Farrell/RollingNews.ie.Mr Doyle added that while Kinahan has been “been on the radar of the Gardaí” for many years, he has never received a custodial sentence.
“Daniel Kinahan has never served time at all,” he said.
“His father famously has served sentences in the past when he was a younger man.
"But Daniel Kinahan has done a very good job, I suppose, of keeping his hands as clean as possible."
Main image: Daniel Kinahan. Picture by: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin.
