McEntee to sign extradition agreement with United Arab Emirates
The Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee TD, will sign bilateral treaties with the United Arab Emirates on extradition and mutual legal assistance, following Government approval at a Cabinet meeting which took place this morning (Friday). Dáil approval will then be sought before the domestic procedures necessary to allow the treaties to enter into force are completed.
These two agreements will further improve the effectiveness of co-operation between Ireland and the UAE in fighting crime and facilitating extradition.
Minister McEntee said:
“This Government is taking all necessary steps to dismantle organised crime.
“Given the increasingly transnational nature of organised crime, it is imperative that Ireland strategically strengthens judicial co-operation in criminal matters with other countries as part of our efforts to combat this serious global threat.
“Last year I informed Government I was opening negotiations with the UAE on bilateral treaties on extradition and mutual legal assistance. As has been the case for many of our EU counterparts, the agreement of these bilateral treaties will be of significant support in tackling organised crime and transnational drug trafficking gangs.
“The signing of these treaties is the culmination of extensive engagements I have had with my counterpart, the Emirati Minister of Justice, His Excellency Abdullah Bin Sultan Bin Awad Al Nuaimi, about ongoing co-operation and deepening the relationship between Ireland and the UAE in criminal justice matters.
“This process is about putting those at the top of organised crime behind bars and holding them responsible for their actions. Any person involved in organised crime should know there is no hiding place; you will face justice. Many organised crime gangs think they can evade justice by crossing borders; they cannot. There can be no hiding place anywhere in the world for criminals.
“This is one of several steps I have taken as Minister for Justice to tackle organised crime in this country. I have secured Government approval to deploy a number of Gardaí into strategic positions overseas, as well as increasing the sentence for conspiracy to murder from 10 years to life. I intend to enact legislation to strengthen the powers of the Criminal Assets Bureau to seize criminal assets, as well as to significantly increase their budget and staff as part of my plan to tackle organised crime. I have also extended the Greentown Programme, which is breaking the link between gangs and the vulnerable young people they are trying to recruit.”
The signing of the bilateral treaties is in addition to a number of other steps to support international policing cooperation and to tackle organised crime, including Minister McEntee’s approval for the posting of Garda Liaison Officers overseas and her decision to increase the maximum sentence for conspiracy to murder from 10 years to life imprisonment to bring to justice those who direct these criminal operations. There is excellent cooperation between An Garda Síochána and their counterparts in the United Arab Emirates, and the deployment of a Garda Liaison Officer to Abu Dhabi last year has been key to this. Dubai police also travelled to Dublin recently to assist members of An Garda Síochána with a large transnational organised crime investigation arising from the seizure of 2.2 tonnes of cocaine on the MV Matthew off the coast of Waterford.