Belfast solicitor to represent suspected mob boss Kinahan

A solicitor from Northern Ireland is to represent suspected mob boss Daniel Kinahan before the Irish courts in Dublin.

A defence barrister David Perry told the Special Criminal Court on Monday that Darragh Mackin would be Kinahan's defence solicitor.

Kinahan, 49, appeared before court by videolink from Portlaoise Prison for the second time as he faces a charge of directing the activities of a criminal organisation.

During his first court appearance last August, he did not have any legal representation.

Mackin, from Phoenix Law in Belfast, was unable to appear in court in Dublin on Monday as he was attending "other matters elsewhere", which were "unexpected", Perry told the court.

Perry asked if the matter could be pushed back for a week and Judge Caroline Biggs remanded the matter for seven days.

Perry said Kinahan would appear in person at the next court appearance next Monday, adding that it was his preference to appear in person.

Kinahan was extradited from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on 9 August and flew back to Ireland on board the Irish government's new jet.

He was brought before the Special Criminal Court in Dublin in a high security operation and charged with directing the activities of a criminal organisation between 18 October 2015 and 6 April 2017.

Kinahan was arrested in the UAE in April.

He appealed the extradition order over the past few months but his attempts were unsuccessful.

The UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) has previously said that the Kinahan cartel has been responsible for importing tonnes of drugs and firearms around the world and has also been linked to more than a dozen gangland murders.

Kinahan was not only wanted by the authorities in Ireland - the US Treasury Department once described the Kinahan cartel as one of the most dangerous in the world.

Kinahan faces the charge before the Special Criminal Court, which is a three-judge, non-jury court.