International drug kingpin Daniel Kinahan has been arrested in the United Arab Emirates, the government of Dubai announced today.
Kinahan is a leader of the Kinahan cartel, which has been involved in cocaine and heroin trafficking and linked to at least 20 murders across Europe. His detention came after an Irish court issued an arrest warrant tied to his alleged role in an international organized crime network.
Kinahan was arrested on April 15 under the terms of an extradition agreement between Ireland and the United Arab Emirates. Irish police said in a statement that the arrest “is another extremely important demonstration of the need for international law enforcement co-operation in tackling transnational organised crime.”
Kinahan, who is in his 40s, moved to Dubai after he was the target of an infamous 2016 assassination attempt at Dublin’s Regency Hotel. His presence in Dubai had long allowed him to evade U.S. and European law enforcement. He and his wife, Caoimhe Robinson, built a multimillion-dollar property portfolio in the Gulf emirate, ICIJ reported in 2024. They maintained some of these properties, which included a sprawling villa, even after Kinahan was hit with U.S. sanctions in 2022 for drug smuggling and money laundering.
Emirati corporate records show that Kinahan and his younger brother established several Dubai companies that trade in food, clothing and textiles and provide business services.
The crime boss has also made millions as a boxing promoter while living in Dubai. He has served as a dealmaker for boxer Tyson Fury, and was paid more than $4 million for arranging bouts for the British fighter. A California lawsuit recently alleged that Top Rank, a U.S. boxing promotion company, secretly paid Kinahan millions to serve as its exclusive consultant, ICIJ reported in March.
Kinahan and Robinson celebrated their marriage with a lavish party at Dubai’s Burj al-Arab luxury hotel in May 2017. The guests at the celebration included crime bosses from all over the world, who authorities alleged had come together with Kinahan to form a “super cartel.” European law enforcement analysts estimated that the network controlled roughly one-third of Europe’s entire cocaine trade, worth roughly $20 billion per year.
Some of these Kinahan associates also set up businesses in Dubai. Edin Gacanin, a cartel leader who attended the wedding, incorporated a front company in the Gulf emirate to pay key members of his organization, ICIJ reported last year.
Kinahan’s father, Christopher Kinahan Sr., the founder of the Kinahan cartel, also settled in Dubai. A Dubai-based company linked to him tried in 2020 to purchase as many as nine military transport planes from the Egyptian air force.
The United Arab Emirates froze some of the assets of Kinahan cartel members in 2022, but the freeze did not apply to some family members’ spouses and partners.
Irish authorities have long sought Kinahan’s extradition. Ireland and the UAE signed an extradition treaty in October 2024, and one of his associates, Sean McGovern, was extradited from Dubai to Ireland in May 2025.
In a statement, Irish Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration Minister Jim O’Callaghan welcomed Kinahan’s arrest. “I would like to commend all involved in today’s development, which is the result of tireless work,” he said.