Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly has paid homage to the efforts of An Garda Síochána following the arrest of Daniel Kinahan in Dubai.

Kinahan was arrested last week on foot of an arrest warrant issued by an Irish court, and is likely set to be extradited back to Ireland in the coming weeks.

Daniel and his father, Christy Kinahan Senior, have been living in Dubai since 2016. They moved to the Middle East from Spain.

On Tuesday, Commissioner Kelly lauded the work of An Garda Síochána, noting that the arrest was the ‘result of a significant Garda operation over many years’ tackling serious and organised crime.

He said: ‘This was built on Gardaí, during that time and the present, undertaking painstakingly and difficult investigative work that has saved lives, put serious criminals behind bars, and hugely undermined the senior leadership of several organised crime gangs.’

The Commissioner extended praise to past senior Gardaí such as the late John O’Driscoll, as well as former Commissioner Drew Harris who built international law enforcement coalitions.

‘I know from my own experience of meeting our police colleagues in Columba and Dubai how such visits forge and strengthen working relationships between law enforcement partners,’ Commissioner Kelly said.

The head of the force noted that the international coalition came together four years ago to ‘disrupt and dismantle the Kinahan Organised Crime Gang.’

Furthermore, An Garda Síochána have expanded their own international liaison officers in recent years, allowing them to build on relationships with law enforcement agencies in America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

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