Daniel Kinahan is due to be extradited to Ireland from Dubai at some stage this weekend on a military transport plane as part of a major security operation.

The cartel boss is set to be flown into Casement Aerodrome at Baldonnel, Co Dublin, on Sunday or in the early hours of Monday as part of an extradition operation with the United Arab Emirates.

Information on the crime figure’s arrival back in Ireland is being kept under a tight lid due to security concerns, although it’s understood that the plane set to pick him up is en-route to the Middle East with gardaí and members of the Air Corps on board.

After touching down on Irish soil, Mr Kinahan is likely to be taken directly to Special Criminal Court at the Criminal Courts of Justice in central Dublin to face a charge of directing organised crime.

The 49-year-old was arrested in Dubai in April and held in custody at the Al Awir Central Prison, failing in a last-ditch appeal against his extradition last week.

One of the Air Corps’ three military transport C295 planes is expected to be used for the 6,000km flight.

Senior sources involved in the operation said that the new Government jet had been considered for the flight at one stage but that the idea was abandoned over fears that public perception of using the €53million aircraft would be unfavourable.

Mr Kinahan’s right-hand man Seán McGovern was also escorted back to Baldonnel from Dubai aboard a C295 plane last May and the twin-engine turboprop stopped to refuel in France and Cyprus on the journey.

Mr McGovern was extradited in relation to two charges of directing the activities of a criminal organisation and was sentenced to 24 years in Portlaoise Prison in June.

Upon his return to Ireland, Mr Kinahan will be kept in the A block of the same prison.

The Irish Prison Service purchased a new bomb-proof and bulletproof escort van to be used for moving high-risk inmates ahead of Mr Kinahan’s arrival, although a helicopter may also be used to take him to and from the Special Criminal Court.

The High Court has previously named Daniel Kinahan as a senior figure in the organised crime gang involved international drug-trafficking and firearms offences.

The crime boss, for whom the US Treasury offered a $5million bounty for information leading to his arrest, will receive a security escort not seen since senior IRA leaders were arrested during the Troubles.

Gardaí and the Defence Forces are believed to be planning for the possibility that Kinahan associates with significant resources at their disposal may attempt to break the organised crime figure free.

The highly secure escort van set to be used to move Mr Kinahan was purchased second-hand in the UK and has ballistic protection to stop high-powered handgun and assault rifle rounds, and floor and panel reinforcements designed to deflect improvised explosive devices.

The vehicle’s tyres are designed to run even if they are punctured and completely flat, while door access is controlled with a twostage entry and exit system.

Mr Kinahan, along with his father Christopher and younger brother Christopher Jr, moved to Dubai from Spain’s Costa del Sol after the murder of fellow gang member David Byrne in the 2016 Regency Hotel shooting.

The attack was an attempt on Mr Kinahan’s life by the Hutch gang, although he escaped unharmed and was last seen in Ireland at Mr Byrne’s funeral.

The shooting escalated the feud between the two gangs, which has led to 18 deaths to date.