Daniel Kinahan's right hand man Sean McGovern arrested in Dubai during dramatic late-night raid
Exclusive - This is the most significant arrest in the Garda crackdown on the Kinahan cartel to date and will see McGovern now facing an extradition hearing in the United Arab Emirates.
Mob boss Daniel Kinahan’s right hand man Sean McGovern was arrested in a late night raid in Dubai, it has emerged. McGovern, who has been wanted for over two years on the foot of a European Arrest Warrant issued over the murder of Noel ‘Duck Egg’ Kirwan, was arrested by Dubai Police executing an Interpol Red Notice alert - in a sensational operation this week.
This is the most significant arrest in the Garda crackdown on the Kinahan cartel to date and will see McGovern now facing an extradition hearing in the United Arab Emirates.
The incredible arrest, which came about thanks to Irish government diplomatic efforts and An Garda Siochana talks with Dubai Police, has been welcomed by the family of Mr Kirwan - as well as the family of feud victim Michael Barr - with his sister Noeleen exclusively telling us: “I speak on behalf of everyone in my family that this news is extremely welcomed and we feel that it is very hopeful for the next step to bring the Kinahan's to justice.
"They have nowhere to hide now. The gap has closed significantly and we hope that we don’t have to wait much longer for the last piece of the puzzle to be solved.”
READ MORE: Feud victim's sister says she hopes to face Daniel Kinahan in court as net closes on cartel
Cartel thug Martin Aylmer was involved in the overall plot to murder Noeleen’s brother Michael in the Sunset House Pub in 2016 - and was also involved in the plot to kill Noel Kirwan - as ordered by McGovern that same year. McGovern, considered to be the most trusted associate of cartel boss Daniel Kinahan, is likely to object to the extradition in court - which he is entitled to do.
If he fails in that bid he will be flown back to Ireland and immediately brought before the courts and charged with the murder of Mr Kirwan - and with directing a criminal organisation.
McGovern is believed to have been central to ordering and executing the shocking gangland murder of innocent Dad-of-two Noel Kirwan - who was gunned down outside his Dublin home three days before Christmas 2016. He is also believed to have been one of the central drivers of the cartel’s efforts in the ruthless Kinahan Hutch feud - that saw a total of 18 men killed.
It is believed Mr Kirwan was only killed because he was seen in the company of top target Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch at his brother’s funeral earlier that year.
McGovern is suspected to have been Kinahan’s man on the ground who issued his orders to lower tier cartel thugs in the midst of the bitter feud. Speaking out after the arrest was made public, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris described it as an “important intervention” - and went on to say that officers are still targeting the very top leaders of the cartel.
He also encouraged members of the Kinahan cartel to “look about them” and cited the $15M reward for information and offer of witness protection by the US government.
“We’ve received news from our colleagues in UAE and Dubai about an important intervention and arrest that they’ve made and we welcome that very much. We see that as a significant development in our ongoing international effort to target transnational crime,” he said at an event in Cork on Wednesday. That’s to be very much welcomed as well and over the coming days more detail will be released as to identity and then the next steps.”
The Commissioner said the effort to arrest the likes of McGovern has been part of a “very long process” started by the late Assistant Commissioner John O’Driscoll, who died earlier this month. “I might say it was started off by the late John O’Driscoll with great skill and capacity and energy and we’re following through on the foundations he laid in respect of international cooperation.”
Commissioner Harris went on to say that the Kinahan cartel remains a top target for the force. “We would always say we’re resolute and relentless in the pursuit of those individuals. They’re Irish nationals, the Kinahan organised crime gang have created misery throughout the world, they’ve been involved in very serious criminality and they’re a murderous gang of drug dealers. Therefore then they are one of our main objectives in terms of law enforcement and their pursuit.”
And in a highly unusual move Mr Harris made remarks directly at members of the Kinahan cartel. “Another point I’d make is in April 2022 US authorities announced their sanctions but also then an award, and I would speak then to unusually perhaps other members of the Kinahan organised crime gang, they should look about them, they should see what is happening here and they should remember there is $15M with US federal law enforcement and the US federal witness protection scheme open and they should consider that,” he said.
“They should consider their own future given the as you say progress and ingress we are making to the Kinahan organised crime gang collectively not just us but also other partners be it National Crime Agency, Europol and our US federal law enforcement counterparts.”
Commissioner Harris said “real progress” had been made since 2022 and said what might be called the cartel’s “legitimate part of the business has been broken down".
“But they remain a priority target and a lot of our effort and energy is obviously about bringing the overall leadership of the Kinahan organised crime gang to justice,” he said.
Gardai first announced the European Arrest Warrant against McGovern at a major press conference that also saw the United States Department of Treasury issue sanctions against the leadership of the Kinahan cartel in April 2022. McGovern fled to Dubai in 2017 - where he believed he would be safe from extradition - and in that time became second in command to mob boss Daniel Kinahan.
In announcing the sanctions against the Kinahan organisation, the US government openly named McGovern - who was one of seven top cartel targets they sanctioned, as Daniel Kinahan’s “advisor and closest confidant.” The US Department of Treasury was designated “for materially assisting, sponsoring, or providing financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, Daniel Kinahan.
“McGovern is Daniel Kinahan’s advisor and closest confidant, and evidence indicates that all dealings with Daniel Kinahan go through Sean McGovern,” they further stated. “Sean McGovern also has managed communications on behalf of Daniel Kinahan, and he sells multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine.”
In that time the leadership of An Garda Siochana have met with the Dubai police a number of times - and they even came here to assist in a major operation that saw millions of euros worth of cartel cocaine discovered on board the MV Matthew.
In a statement issued after the news broke about McGovern’s arrest, Minister for Justice Helen McEntee even cited the assistance of the Dubai Police in that operation for the first time - and spoke of how cooperation between our country and the UAE has greatly improved. She also suggested that no matter what happens next, the remaining leadership of the Kinahan cartel can run but not hide from justice.
“While I cannot comment on an individual case, any person involved in organised crime should know there is no hiding place; you will face justice. The Government is taking all necessary steps to dismantle organised crime. Many organised crime gangs think they can evade justice by crossing borders; they cannot. There can be no hiding place anywhere in the world for criminals,” she said.
“I have taken a number of steps to support international policing cooperation, including approval for the posting of Garda Liaison Officers overseas. There is excellent cooperation between An Garda Síochána and their counterparts in the United Arab Emirates, and the deployment of a Garda Liaison Officer to Abu Dhabi last year has been key to this. “Dubai police also travelled to Dublin recently to assist members of An Garda Síochána with a large transnational organised crime investigation arising from the seizure of 2.2 tonnes of cocaine on the MV Matthew off the coast of Waterford.
“I am intensively engaging with my counterpart, the Emirati Minister of Justice, His Excellency Abdullah Bin Sultan Bin Awad Al Nuaimi, about ongoing co-operation and deepening the relationship between Ireland and the UAE in criminal justice matters. Last year I secured Government approval to open negotiations with the UAE on bilateral treaties on extradition and mutual legal assistance. Good progress is being made.
“I would like to acknowledge the leading role played by former Assistant Commissioner John O’Driscoll in creating and maintaining networks with other police services around the world to tackle transnational organised crime gangs. These networks are now well-established and of vital importance, which is a very fitting legacy to John after his untimely passing recently,” she added.
McGovern, who was also one of the men injured during the attack at the Regency Hotel in 2016, was in January named in the Special Criminal Court as a significant figure in a leadership role in the Kinahan organised crime group. The non-jury court heard sworn testimony on the command structure and activities of the Kinahan cartel, as well as evidence that 33 people linked to the organisation who were "going to be involved in violence and murder" have been arrested by investigating gardaí.
Detective Superintendent David Gallagher was giving evidence in the trial of Michael Crotty, who is accused of facilitating the murder of Noel Kirwan in 2016 by buying a mobile phone top-up for Sean McGovern. In his opening speech before the courts, Dominic McGinn SC, for the prosecution, alleged that Mr Crotty purchased the mobile phone credit at a Spar shop in Naas, Co Kildare, on December 21st 2016 on behalf of Mr McGovern.
Detective Superintendent Gallagher agreed that Sean McGovern is connected to that organisation and added: "He is a significant figure within the organisation in a leadership role and is currently based in Dubai."
Before becoming Kinahan’s most trusted lieutenant, McGovern was also a close associate of cartel mobster Liam Byrne - running car business ‘LS Active Car Sales’ in Crumlin with him for years before the pair were targeted by the Criminal Assets Bureau. McGovern was named in High Court proceedings against the then ‘Byrne Organised Crime Group’ - of which Liam Byrne was its leader.
Byrne is now locked up in Belmarsh Prison in the UK, where he is facing sentencing later this month for his role in a bizarre firearms conspiracy plot to try and get cartel boss Thomas ‘Bomber’ Kavanagh a lighter prison sentence. ‘Bomber’ Kavanagh too was a major associate of McGovern - and is also locked up in Belmarsh, where he’s facing sentencing over the same plot - and serving a 21 year sentence for conspiracy to import E36M worth of drugs.
Our pictures show happier times when McGovern and Byrne used to party together - and photos of them at the funeral of Liam’s brother David - after he was gunned down in the Regency Hotel in February 2016.
Sources say following that hit, McGovern and Byrne were central to the cartel’s bid for revenge against the Hutch mob - with it striking back just three days later and murdering Eddie Hutch at his home in Dublin’s inner city.
The cartel, led by the likes of Byrne, McGovern, ‘Bomber’ and ultimately Daniel Kinahan, went on to be responsible for a further 15 more murders - many of whom were innocent victims.
Join the Irish Mirror’s breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive breaking news and the latest headlines direct to your phone. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Related
Share this page
Guest Posts by Easy Branches
