The UAE's Minister of Justice has praised the co-operation with Ireland that led to the extradition of a suspected member of an organised crime gang from Dubai to Dublin.
Sean McGovern, who is believed to be a member of the Kinahan organised crime group, landed in Dublin on Thursday evening, having flown on an Irish military aircraft. He was brought to a court in the Irish capital where he was charged with murder.
He also was charged with several other offences including directing a crime organisation. Dubai Police arrested Mr McGovern in October 2024 and he has remained in custody since. A phone call took place between the two countries' justice ministers last weekend.
“This positive development is further evidence of the excellent criminal justice co-operation between the governments of the UAE and Ireland and highlights our joint dedication to ensuring that criminal prosecutions may be brought against those who attempt to evade justice," read a joint statement from Abdullah Al Nuaimi and Jim O'Callaghan, Irish Minister of Justice, reported the state news agency Wam.
Mr McGovern was detained in Dubai in 2024 following the issuing of an Interpol red notice. It is believed he had been contesting the extradition.
Interpol described Mr McGovern as “one of Ireland's most wanted fugitives” and said the red notice was published to support the continuing collaboration between the Irish and UAE authorities. It also confirmed that Mr McGovern is wanted for charges including murder and directing an organised crime group.
Additionally, Mr McGovern was one of seven senior figures in the Kinahan group named and placed under sanctions by US authorities. In 2022, the UAE froze assets related to the group.
Ireland’s justice minister at the time, Helen McEntee, visited the UAE in October last year to sign the extradition and mutual assistance treaties between the countries. It came just after Mr McGovern was detained.
In an interview with The National during the visit, Ms McEntee declined to comment on individual cases but said anyone who thinks they can “inflict misery” at home and then move away and live with impunity is mistaken.
Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Jiu-Jitsu World Tour Calendar 2018/19
July 29: OTA Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan
Sep 22-23: LA Convention Centre in Los Angeles, US
Nov 16-18: Carioca Arena Centre in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Feb 7-9: Mubadala Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE
Mar 9-10: Copper Box Arena in London, UK
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Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
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Funds raised: $22 million
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If you had all the money in the world, what’s the one sneaker you would buy or create?
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
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