The Irish government jet has travelled to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as part of an operation to extradite suspected crime boss Daniel Kinahan.

Kinahan was arrested in Dubai under a warrant issued by the Irish courts in April but has fought attempts to extradite him.

His appeals have been unsuccessful and it is expected that he is due to be flown back to Ireland on Sunday, according to Irish broadcaster RTÉ.

He will then be taken to the Special Criminal Court in Dublin.

On Kinhan’s return to Ireland, RTÉ have said that a large security operation will be in place and the prison service has also upgraded facilities in the maximum-security Portlaoise Prison.

The US government imposed sanctions on him in April 2022 after he and other members of his family were identified as leaders of the Kinahan organised crime cartel.

Kinahan also had ties to the world of sport via his now defunct boxing management company MTK Global, which represented more than 100 boxers including Tyson Fury and Carl Frampton.

Irish authorities are expected to prosecute him for his involvement in leading an organised crime group.

An extradition agreement is in place between the UAE and Ireland and it was used to extradite Sean McGovern, a “senior lieutenant” in the organised crime group.

He was sentenced to 24 years in prison in June for directing the activities of a criminal organisation.

On 5 February 2016, an attempt was made on Kinahan’s life in what became known as the Regency Hotel shooting.

One of his associates, David Byrne, was shot dead, while two others were shot and injured.

This incident was part of what became known as the Hutch-Kinahan feud which has so far cost 18 lives.

For more than 20 years the group has been responsible for importing tonnes of drugs and firearms around the world, the National Crime Agency (NCA) previously said.

The NCA said the crime group is linked to more than a dozen gangland murders.

The US Treasury Department describes the Kinahan cartel as one of the most dangerous in the world, comparable to crime organisations like Italy’s Camorra, Mexico’s Los Zetas and Japan’s Yakuza.

A reward of up to $5m (£3.84m) has also been offered by the US for information on the three most senior Kinahan gang members – Daniel, his father Christopher Snr, 65, and brother Christopher Jnr.

According to former Gardaí (Irish police) Commissioner Drew Harris, the gang is estimated to have made more than €1bn (£836,590,000) globally from its activities.

In 2022, Thomas Kavanagh, who the NCA said ran the group’s criminal operations in the UK, was jailed for 21 years alongside Gary Vickery and Daniel Canning, who were sentenced to 20 years and 19 and a half years respectively.

The NCA said evidence showed they were responsible for cocaine imports estimated to be up to £23.4m, and cannabis imports worth about £6.4m.

Daniel Kinahan’s lawyer previously told BBC Panorama that he has no criminal record or convictions and allegations about him being a crime boss are false and have no evidential basis.