Suspected Irish crime boss lands in Dublin after extradition from Dubai to face allegations

LONDON (AP) — The alleged leader of an Irish organized crime gang was extradited to Ireland from Dubai on Sunday to face allegations that he ran an international drug smuggling and money laundering empire with tentacles that stretched to Britain, Spain and the U.S.

The Irish Air Corps plane carrying Daniel Kinahan, 49, landed at an airport on the outskirts of Dublin on Sunday evening after courts in Dubai refused to block his extradition.

Kinahan was taken to the Special Criminal Court in Dublin where he was charged with directing the activities of a criminal organization. He was ordered to remain in custody at the high-security Portlaoise Prison about 90 miles (145 kilometers) southwest of the capital. His next court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 5.

Ireland’s Special Criminal Court handles all organized crime and terrorism cases, as well as others where prosecutors believe the ordinary courts are inadequate to ensure the “effective administration of justice.” Cases are heard by a panel of three judges without a jury.

Irish media reported that a huge security operation was underway to ensure Kinahan faces justice. It included armed police, members of the armed forces and the prison service — which recently acquired a bombproof escort van to transport organized crime suspects, terrorists and other high-risk prisoners, Irish broadcaster RTE reported.

The security precautions came after Kinahan's family members were linked to a bloody gang war with another Irish organized crime group. U.S. authorities said in 2022 that the feud had resulted in 18 murders as they announced a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the disruption of the Kinahan organization or the arrest and conviction of Daniel Kinahan.

“Since February 2016, the (Kinahan Organized Crime Group) has been involved in a gang war with another group in Ireland and Spain, resulting in numerous murders, including of two innocent bystanders,” the U.S. Treasury Department said when it sanctioned six members of the Kinahan gang and three businesses linked to it.

Irish police, with the help of authorities in Britain, Spain and the U.S., have been pursuing members of the Kinahan gang since at least 2016, when the feud led to a daytime shooting during the weigh-in for a boxing match at a Dublin hotel. Kinahan was a boxing promoter at the time.

The authorities allege the gang smuggled tens of millions of dollars in illegal drugs, including cocaine and cannabis, as well as guns into Europe, then used a network of apparently legitimate enterprises to launder the profits.

Kinahan is believed to have run the day-to-day operations of the gang from his base in Dubai, the U.S. Treasury said. That includes buying “large quantities of cocaine” from South America, organizing its distribution in Ireland and attempting to smuggle drugs into the U.K., Treasury said.

Kinahan has also instructed gang members to deliver money to a number of people in prison, including one who was convicted of attempting to murder someone on behalf of the organization, the agency said.

He was detained by Dubai authorities in April on an Irish arrest warrant.

During a phone interview with Scottish podcaster James English last week, Kinahan denied being an organized crime boss and described himself as the victim of a conspiracy to tarnish his reputation. While he said the extradition proceedings were expedited due to a deal between the Irish and Dubai governments, he said he hoped his trial in Dublin would help clear his name.

“I believe, in a way, I am a scapegoat,” he said in the interview posted on TikTok. "And anyone that looks into this so-called feud that they say they have created, then you will see, you will see things yourself if someone has the time to look into it.”

In March 2022, the head of the Kinahan organization in Britain, Thomas “Bomber” Kavanagh, was sentenced to 21 years in prison after he was convicted of orchestrating drug shipments into the U.K. Two other men were sentenced to 20 years and 19 1/2 years for their part in the crimes.

In the course of their investigation, police found 15 kilograms of cocaine and 220 kilograms of cannabis inside asphalt removal equipment fitted with a tracking device at the port of Dover on the English Channel, Britain’s National Crime Agency said when Kavanagh was sentenced.

Kavanagh lived in a mansion equipped with bulletproof glass and reinforced doors in Tamworth, northeast of Birmingham. When police raided the property in 2019 they seized numerous weapons and 35,000 pounds of cash in various currencies, including Emirati dirhams and euros, as well as British pounds, the crime agency said.

An Irish government plane believed to be carrying Daniel Kinahan landing at Casement Aerodrome in Baldonnell, Ireland, Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026, following him being extradited from Dubai, to face a charge of directing an organized crime group. (Brian Lawless/PA via AP)

Members of the Garda Armed response unit at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin, Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026, where Daniel Kinahan is expected to appear charged with directing an organised crime group, after being extradited from Dubai. (Mark Marlow/PA via AP)

Members of the public outside Casement Aerodrome in Baldonnell, Ireland, Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026, where a Irish government plane believed to be carrying Daniel Kinahan landed, following him being extradited from Dubai, to face a charge of directing an organized crime group. (Damien Eagers/PA via AP)

Daniel Kinahan, back right, leaving the Criminal Courts of Justice in Dublin, Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026, where he was remanded in custody charged with directing an organized crime group, after being extradited from Dubai. (Mark Marlow/PA via AP)

Garda vehicles leaving Casement Aerodrome, Baldonnell, Ireland, Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026, where a Irish government plane believed to be carrying Daniel Kinahan landed, following him being extradited from Dubai, to face a charge of directing an organized crime group. (Damien Eagers/PA via AP)

MOUNT BROMO, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia intensified efforts Monday to combat a growing number of wildfires across the archipelago, deploying helicopters, hundreds of firefighters and disaster personnel as blazes spread through a popular national park in East Java and peatlands in Sumatra during an unusually dry season, officials said.

Scores of firefighters, backed by 43 helicopters, have been deployed to battle wildfires that have burned more than 107,000 hectares (264,000 acres) of forests and other land across the Southeast Asian nation as of Monday, Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Djamari Chaniago said.

East Java authorities said the largest blaze is burning in Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park in East Java province, where about 743 hectares (1,836 acres) have been scorched. Authorities have closed the park to visitors until further notice.

It said the fire has burned large areas of dry grassland, vegetation and protected edelweiss flowers as flames have spread to the Penanjakan area, a popular viewpoint for tourists visiting Mount Bromo, one of Indonesia’s best-known attractions. No injuries or evacuations have been reported.

Chaniago said weather-modification, or cloud-seeding, operations are considered one of the most effective ways to help firefighters combat wildfires by inducing rainfall through the dispersal of salt particles into suitable clouds. Strengthening El Nino conditions have raised the risk of more forest and land fires during the peak dry season.

However, the effort would be difficult to carry out because scientific monitoring “found no rain-bearing clouds suitable for weather-modification operations through Aug. 18,” Chaniago told a news conference Monday. He spoke after a meeting with related ministers and agency chiefs dealing with wildfires in the capital, Jakarta.

With cloud-seeding ruled out because of unfavorable weather conditions, "we are relying solely on water bombing and ground firefighting teams,” said Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni while visiting Mount Bromo on Sunday. He urged the public to avoid activities that could spark new blazes, including discarding cigarette butts and clearing land by burning.

Wildfires have been reported in several of Indonesia’s most fire-prone regions, including the provinces of Riau, Jambi and South Sumatra on Sumatra island, and Central Kalimantan and South Kalimantan on Borneo island, Chaniago said.

In Jambi, more than 50 hectares (124 acres) of peatland have burned, causing choking haze in some areas and raising concerns about worsening air quality. The largest fire has been reported in the village of Sungai Gelam in the Muaro Jambi district, where dozens of hectares of palm oil plantations owned by local residents have been destroyed. The blaze has burned since Wednesday.

About 300 firefighters and disaster personnel have been deployed to battle the fire. Officials said deep peat soil, limited water supplies, difficult access and strong winds have complicated efforts, even with three helicopters conducting aerial firefighting operations.

Forest and peat fires are an annual problem in Indonesia that strain relations with neighboring countries.

Malaysia has reported unhealthy air-quality levels in parts of Sarawak state on Borneo island, with officials saying winds were carrying smoke from hot spots in neighboring areas. In Singapore, authorities have warned that prevailing southeasterly winds could carry smoke toward the city-state, with dry conditions expected to prevail.

“We must uphold the nation’s credibility by showing that we can bring these fires under control,” Chaniago said.

Indonesia’s Meteorological, Climatological and Geophysical Agency said August and September are expected to be the most critical months as dry vegetation and strong winds create favorable conditions for fires to spread rapidly.

Wildfires in Indonesia, an archipelago nation of more than 17,000 islands, are often started illegally by plantation owners or traditional farmers to clear land for planting.

Karmini reported from Jakarta. Associated Press writers Edna Tarigan in Jakarta, Indonesia and Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, contributed to this report.

In this photo released by the East Java Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency, firefighters attempt to extinguish a wildfire that razes through Mount Bromo National Park in Probolinggo, Indonesia on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. (East Java Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency via AP)