An extradition treaty between Ireland and the United Arab Emirates will “close the net” on senior figures in organised crime groups, the Irish justice minister said.
Helen McEntee said there are “a significant number” of senior criminal gang members in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the extradition treaty signalled “there can be no hiding place”.
“Many organised crime gangs think that they can evade justice by crossing borders,” Ms McEntee said on Friday. “They cannot and they will not.”
Under the treaty, Ireland can seek the extradition of a person from the UAE for any crime punishable by a sentence of a year or more.
This includes crimes such as murder and attempted murder.
Irish citizens will not be allowed to be extradited to the UAE nor UAE citizens extradited to Ireland.
Ms McEntee said that there are grounds for refusal of an extradition request, which include punishing a person based on their race, religion, ethnic origin, nationality, language, political opinion, sex or status.
The deal also involves a mutual legal assistance treaty that will allow gardai to seek assistance from the UAE for criminal investigations, prosecutions and other proceedings.
It will not apply to anyone currently detained in prison, Ms McEntee said.
Last week, Sean McGovern, a senior figure in the Kinahan organised crime group, was arrested in Dubai in what the Garda Commissioner described as an “important intervention”.
Asked whether the main purpose of the extradition treaty was to target the Kinahans, Ms McEntee said: “The overall objective is to make sure that irrespective of who you are, that criminals know that they cannot evade justice.
“Obviously the Kinahan family and organisation have been based there for a number of years.
“Without getting into specifics, this will allow An Garda Siochana following a request from the DPP for charges to be brought, to go to the courts, to seek a warrant, to then bring that to the UAE authorities and hopefully get extraditions.”
She added that in recent years, organised criminal gangs have moved to the UAE to evade extradition treaties in European countries.
“No matter where you go, we will follow you. We will work with our counterparts in those countries, and we will make sure that you cannot evade justice for the crimes that you are responsible for.
“The more agreements we put in place, the tighter the net gets.”
She added: “I’m confident that this treaty, both treaties, will prove very useful in making sure that senior figures in organised crime groups will be brought home and will face justice.”
The Irish government approved the bilateral treaty agreement at an incorporeal Cabinet meeting on Friday morning. It will be brought before the Dail chamber for approval next week.
Ms McEntee said she would sign the treaty in the UAE in the coming days and that it would come into effect within weeks.
Negotiations with the UAE on bilateral treaties began last year.
Tanaiste Micheal Martin said that it was “an important milestone” and “a significant development”.
“I don’t want to get into any specific, particular applications of the treaty. It’s a broad treaty that I think is an important milestone,” he said in Cork.
“I do welcome it, and it’s something that a lot of work has gone in to, both from the department of Foreign Affairs and Department of Justice.”
Dublin MEP Barry Andrews said that an extradition treaty with the UAE was “good news for Dublin and for Ireland”.
“It has become blatantly obvious that those who are most responsible for much of the crime and violence that we see on our streets in Dublin are using Dubai as a hideout,” he said.
“Thankfully, with the treaty now set to be agreed, the net surrounding these criminals will begin to tighten. I know from speaking to constituents that crime and public safety has become one of the main issues for people.”