For years, he moved across borders, shifting base from Europe to the Gulf, staying a step ahead of investigators tracking one of Europe’s most powerful criminal networks. That run ended this week in Dubai.
Daniel Kinahan, widely described as the leader of the Kinahan cartel, was arrested on Wednesday in a joint operation involving Irish and United Arab Emirates authorities after a prolonged international manhunt.
Dubai Police confirmed the arrest of “an Irish fugitive” linked to organised crime, without naming him. Irish media later identified the individual as Daniel Kinahan.
Ireland’s police force, the Garda Siochana, said a man in his 40s had been detained under a warrant issued by Irish courts.
“An Garda Siochana has been steadfast in our determination that we would pursue those allegedly involved in serious Organised Criminal activity, wherever they go,” the force said in a statement.
Kinahan, 48, is expected to face charges in Ireland connected to a long-running feud between the Kinahan cartel and the Hutch gang, a conflict that has led to 18 killings since 2015.
Kinahan’s ability to avoid arrest for years was shaped by constant movement. He left Ireland following an attempted assassination at a boxing weigh-in event at Dublin’s Regency Hotel, where associate David Byrne was shot dead.
After that incident, Kinahan relocated first to Spain and later to the United Arab Emirates.
Authorities across multiple countries continued to track his activities, building cases linked to organised crime and international drug trafficking.
In 2022, the United States Department of the Treasury announced a reward of $5 million for information leading to the arrest of Kinahan cartel leaders or the dismantling of its financial network.
The cartel is seen as a major force in Europe’s drug trade. Investigators have linked it to a wider network described as a “super cartel”, believed to control a significant share of cocaine distribution across the continent.