A bail application for alleged crime gang leader Daniel Kinahan will be made in the coming weeks, a court in Dublin has been told.
The 49-year-old appeared before the Special Criminal Court in Dublin on Monday.
He has been charged with directing the activities of a criminal organisation between October 18 2015 and April 6 2017.
Wearing a grey suit, black shirt and glasses, Mr Kinahan did not speak during the brief court hearing.
Mr Kinahan, alleged to be a leader of the Kinahan organised crime group, was arrested in the United Arab Emirates on April 15 on foot of an arrest warrant issued by the Irish courts.
This was carried out in accordance with a bilateral agreement on extradition between Ireland and the UAE.
He had been flown to Ireland on an Irish Government jet in August, and was taken by high-speed Garda escort to court in Dublin where he was charged with directing the activities of a criminal organisation.
Darragh Mackin, from Phoenix Law in Belfast, made a formal application to come on record as Mr Kinahan’s solicitor.
Mr Mackin said he was “grateful” for the court’s accommodation last week when the case was put back to today to allow Mr Mackin to attend to other matters.
The solicitor told the court that they would be lodging papers and be applying for bail in due course. The bail application will be made through the High Court.
Mr Mackin said that the timetable for the trial needs to factor in expert examination of digital evidence.
He also said that they are seeking full disclosure in relation to two other investigations that Mr Kinahan was acquitted of in two other jurisdictions.
These are in relation to an investigation in Spain and a separate investigation in Dubai.
Prosecution barrister Dominic McGinn SC said that the accused was extradited in August in relation to a single charge and that there is a “complex factual matrix” behind the charge.
He said the statement of fact ran to 189 pages and that the book evidence will take a number of weeks to prepare.
Mr Mackin said he had no issues with the stated matters, and said that he wanted those issues to be factored in to the timetable.
He also said that he would be making application for bail in due course on behalf of Mr Kinahan.
Mr Kinahan was remanded in to custody and will appear in court again on December 21.
Following the conclusion of the hearing, Mr Kinahan spoke to his solicitor briefly.
Presiding over the court were Ms Justice Caroline Biggs, Her Hon Judge Sarah Berkeley and Judge Kevin Staunton.
Speaking after, Mr Mackin said that Mr Kinahan will “vehemently defend” the case against him.
“We made it clear today that Daniel Kinahan will vehemently defend the case against him. We are anxious to make progress,” Mr Mackin added.
“We are confident that the book of evidence will now be served before the end of this year.
“The rule of law applies equally to everybody. Nobody is above the rule of law, but equally nobody is below the rule of law – so we now look forward to a trial, hopefully in the early part of next year.”
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