Why are the Kinahans still at large in Dubai? 

Although the notorious gangland criminals’ humble origins lie in Dublin, the family has not been seen in Ireland for years. 

Instead, the Kinahans are living freely and in great opulence in the United Arab Emirates. 

All despite the fact that three years ago, the US State Department placed a multimillion dollar bounty on their heads. 

Former Justice Minister Helen McEntee and her team spent thousands of euros flying in and out of the UAE to negotiate an extradition treaty with the Emiratis. 

Yet, Daniel Kinahan still walks the sunny streets of Dubai as free as the birds in the sky above him. 

On Newstalk Daily, journalist Ed Caesar, who delved deep into the murky world of the Kinahans for The New Yorker, explained why the family have escaped criminal consequences for their destructive actions over the years. 

 “What I came to realise is that - particularly the European drug cartels - the people at the top of them, over time have realised where is the most helpful place for me to live?” he explained. 

“For a while that was Amsterdam, after that for a while it was the Costa Del Sol. 

“But recently, in the last decade or so, it’s been Dubai and there’s a really good reason for that. 

“Dubai has been very slow to handle extradition requests; it’s not interested particularly in organised crime unless it’s touching the United Arab Emirates itself. 

“They would say differently but I think, in practice, you can see that they have not been quick to clamp down on organised crime.

“Also, it has become a kind of money laundering hub for a lot of these big organised crime businesses and that is the most important bit about running a major criminal empire - you have to be able to wash your money.” 

Then US Ambassador to Ireland Claire Cronin speaking at Dublin City Hall, after it was announced that the US government is offering a reward for information on the Irish Kinahan crime gang. Picture by: PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo

Once the Costa Del Sol was dubbed a ‘sunny place for shady people’, now Dubai could be described as a ‘sandy place for shady people’. 

In 2017, Daniel Kinahan wed in the most extraordinary opulence at the seven-star Burj al Arab hotel in Dubai. 

Eight years on, many of the guests are behind bars - but the groom continues to evade justice. 

“It struck me as very interesting that the American and the Irish law enforcement, the State Department and so on, got together for a big press conference at Dublin City Hall and put $5 million bounties on the heads of the three Kinahan men,” Mr Caesar recalled. 

“They said, ‘We will bring them to justice, wherever they are in the world.’ 

“Three years later, they’re still walking around. That to me is very interesting.” 

The marina in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Picture by: Jan Wlodarczyk / Alamy Stock Photo

The biggest obstacle lies in Ireland. 

What exactly would the Kinahans be put on trial for? That’s something that has not yet been made public yet. 

“The Department for Public Prosecutions has not filed charges against Daniel Kinahan or his father and his brother,” Mr Caesar added. 

“Until they do that, it’s unlikely that the Emirati Police are going to act.” 

Crucially as well, the United States has lost interest in the case. 

Speaking to State Department officials, Mr Caesar was struck about the openness in which they said that the Kinahans were not “top of our agenda anymore”. 

“The Trump Administration has much more different priorities when it comes to the war on drugs,” he said. 

“When you look at what’s happening in the US at the moment, they’re thinking about fentanyl, they’re thinking about small boats off the American coast. 

“They’re not thinking about Irish drug lords hanging out in Dubai, operating mostly in Europe.” 

Former US Ambassador to Ireland Claire Cronin speaking at Dublin City Hall after it was announced that the US government is offering a reward for information on the Irish Kinahan crime gang. Picture by: PA Images/Alamy Stock Photo/Niall Carson

Gardaí have previously estimated that the Kinahans are worth about €1.5 billion. 

Even if that is not quite accurate, Mr Caesar believes it is certainly “plausible” that they are worth hundreds of millions of euros given their lengthy involvement in the cocaine trade. 

In fact, the family are so enmeshed within the global criminal underworld that they even have links to Hezbollah. 

The Iranian-backed group orchestrates attacks on Israel and has been linked to the killing of Irish soldier Private Séan Rooney. 

“Hezbollah for a long time, particularly in the 2010s, was the most significant figure in European cocaine trafficking,” Mr Caesar said. 

“They operate a lot of the money laundering; there were these operatives operating out of the port of Rotterdam. 

“So, if you wanted to be in cocaine in Europe in that period, you probably had to end up dealing with Hezbollah in some way, shape or form. 

“The really crazy thing is that the links are so deep that law enforcement think the Kinahans essentially conducted or helped Hezbollah to conduct political assassinations."

Main image: Daniel Kinahan pictured at the funeral of David Byrne. Picture by: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin.