Ireland prepares maximum security prison for Daniel Kinahan ahead of expected extradition

A section of the country’s most secure jail has been upgraded and a bomb-proof van has been purchased as prison bosses prepare for the imminent arrival of Daniel Kinahan.

The Irish Mirror has learned that one of the most secure areas of Portlaoise Prison has been upgraded with a library and a gym - which Kinahan will have sole access to when he is expected to be remanded there in the coming weeks.

The unprecedented overhaul of security measures has seen the Irish Prison Service (IPS) invest in securing an area within Portlaoise Prison just for Kinahan - where he will be isolated from the rest of the prison population.

There, he will have access to the likes of a gym and a library - while more prison staff will also be put in place to secure the area at all times.

The security measures come after a major review by the IPS which involved liaising with Gardaí in recent months.

It has also emerged that the Irish Prison Service has purchased a new state-of-the-art bullet and bomb-proof van which will be used to escort Kinahan to the prison when he arrives.

The vehicle, which is understood to have been purchased in the UK, has ballistic protection which can stop gun and assault rifle fire - as well as floor and panel reinforcements designed to deflect explosives.

It is understood the vehicle is designed to look exactly like the rest of the Irish Prison Service vans - making it indistinguishable from the rest of the fleet.

The revelation that the van had been purchased was first reported by RTÉ.

The unprecedented security measures have been finalised in recent weeks as Gardaí now brace to extradite Kinahan from Dubai in the coming weeks.

The mob boss lost his final appeal in recent days in a fast-tracked courts process that now means he can now be brought back to Ireland at any moment.

As reported previously, Gardaí initially had a very early date this month after Kinahan had lost his first appeal in Dubai. The mobster then had a final opportunity to appeal to a higher court - which put those plans on the back burner.

However, that appeal has concluded earlier than expected - meaning a tentative expected date in September has now been pushed up by several weeks.

Final preparations are understood to be underway before Kinahan will be flown back here within days and brought before the Special Criminal Court in Dublin.

Sources say it can now happen at any time - with a date in August the most likely.

Kinahan is expected to be flown out of Dubai on the government jet - though there are other military aircraft available.

Sources say this will be one of the most unprecedented and complex security operations in the history of the state - and will not be done on a whim.

It comes as podcaster James English stated this week that Kinahan, who he had famously interviewed in 2022, was “looking forward” to returning to Ireland in the coming days.

English, who runs the ‘Anything Goes’ podcast, said Kinahan’s extradition back to Ireland was being “fast tracked”.

The podcaster, whowas previously unable to release an interview he teased with Kinahan a number of years ago, now claims Kinahan is ready to be interviewed.

Writing on Instagram, Mr English said: “Ireland’s Daniel Kinahan has lost his appeal in Dubai and will be extradited to Ireland.

“His case has been fast-tracked to days and not months in the Dubai courts system, so in my opinion looks like back deals have been going on.

“Daniel is looking forward to returning to the country that he has not lived in for 25 years. And for the first time he will be doing interviews to tell his story. More to come very soon.”

Gardaí want to charge Kinahan with directing a criminal organisation - a charge that carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Some of the case against him is understood to involve encrypted messages which were uncovered from the breaking of ‘Pretty Good Privacy’ (PGP) devices used by the cartel.

Gardaí are understood to allege that encrypted handles known as ‘Bon Neww,’ ’Bon4’ and ’Cap’ which communicated with and gave orders to Sean McGovern and others at the height of the feud, belonged to Daniel Kinahan.

In one conversation revealed during McGovern’s case, the Special Criminal Court heard how Sean McGovern told ’Cap’ following the Regency Hotel shooting: “Mate I’m fuming I swear to God what about doing Mink’s daughter or will that bring too much heat?”

‘Cap’ then responded, “Yes, but maybe only Neddie,” in a message referencing Eddie Hutch, a brother of Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch. Those messages were sent on February 7, 2016, just one day before Eddie was ultimately murdered by the cartel at his home in Poplar Row in Dublin.

Other encrypted chats revealed that the cartel plot to track James Gately was first hatched in October 2015 and later in 2017 ‘Bon Neww’ directed McGovern to go after him.

“Hate the horrible rat bag. Get Mago,” Bon Neww (allegedly Kinahan) told McGovern in April 2017.

On April 3, 2017, Estonian hitman Imre Arakas flew into Ireland and the following day was arrested by Gardaí at an address at Blakestown Cottages. Officers ultimately seized a Blackberry device containing the encrypted instructions he was receiving from the handle they suspect was Kinahan.

The court heard how a member of the Garda Emergency Response Unit took photos of the conversations before they were remotely wiped.

In those messages, Arakas was conversing with ‘Bon Neww’ about using a ‘silencer’ and shooting Gately in the head from a distance.

The court also heard that ‘Bon Neww’ relayed messages to Arakas, including informing him that Gately ‘drives most days, he seems to go to Newry and back.’

Gardaí also believe Kinahan was central to and on the ground for the murder of Eddie Hutch on February 8, 2016.

The brother of Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch was gunned down outside his home on Poplar Row in Dublin’s Inner City just three days after the Regency Hotel murder of Kinahan cartel associate David Byrne.

It is suspected that Kinahan played a hands-on role in that murder as he vowed revenge for the murder of his associate - but also the attempt on his own life at the boxing weigh-in event just days earlier.

Sources say Gardaí believe an enraged Kinahan then directed the activities of the cartel from abroad in waging murder and mayhem on the streets of Dublin over the following two years.