Alleged boss of the Kinahan organised crime group returns after a decade abroad following a successful extradition case.

Daniel Kinahan is being transported by Government jet from Dubai and is expected to land in Casement Aerodrome in Baldonnel.

Kinahan left Ireland after the Regency Hotel shooting in February 2016, a “major flashpoint” of the Hutch-Kinahan gangland feud, spending time in Spain and the Middle East.

On The Pat Kenny Show, Newstalk reporter Molly O’Connor, who was at Casement Aerodrome, said Daniel Kinahan was not expected to land until around 7 o’clock this evening.

She described a “massive security operation” involving Gardaí, the Defence Forces, and Irish Prison Service.  Ms. O’Connor noted that a bulletproof and bombproof escort van was recently purchased for Kinahan’s arrival.

Ms. O’Connor said that Kinahan was arrested in Dubai in April in a joint operation between Gardaí and UAE authorities.

Kinahan was arrested on suspicion of “serious organised crime offences” after Irish courts issued an arrest warrant. Kinahan appealed the terms of his extradition but recently lost this appeal.

Gardaí “pretty confident that they have a very tight security operation in place”

Also on the show was Newstalk’s Courts Correspondent Frank Greaney who noted that details of Kinahan’s return, including the progress of the aircraft transporting him, can be seen online.

Mr. Greaney compared the transparency with the May 2025 extradition of Sean McGovern, a senior Kinahan crime group official, He also noted Gardaí’s confidence in their security precautions.

Mr. Greaney confirmed that Gardaí fear individuals opposed to Kinahan would attempt to attack Kinahan, or that the Kinahan organised crime group would attempt to liberate him from custody.

A “significant moment in An Garda Síochána's battle against organised crime”

Mr. Greaney explained that the US Government’s 2022 decision to place Kinahan on its ‘most-wanted list’ was the first time the Kinahan crime group felt “like they were in trouble.”

Mr. Greaney noted that precise charges that will be brought against Kinahan remain unknown but expected “a single charge of directing the activities of a criminal organisation” would be levelled.