The leader of the Kinahan cartel is expected before a Dubai judge this week for an extradition hearing, the Mail has learned.

Daniel Kinahan, 48, was arrested in the UAE earlier this month after an investigation by Irish police, who have been trying to nail him for nearly two decades.

The Mail can also reveal high-level talks between gardaí, the Defence Forces and Department of Justice representatives are taking place to ensure he reaches the Irish courts system alive.

Estimates from several sources this publication spoke to said Kinahan could face an Irish court in late May or the start of June.

However, they warned that there are legal applications which Kinahan can make in Dubai to delay his return to his native Dublin.

He is expected to fight the extradition, which will give him another 30 days, but there are 'no realistic avenues' after that, according to one source who said it would just 'delay the inevitable'.

'He is expected to be put in front of a judge this week. He's been at the Al Awir Central prison complex since his arrest. It's not a nice place, to put it lightly.

'If he tries to appeal his extradition, it's only going to delay the inevitable. If the extradition is granted, which everyone expects it to be, he has 30 days to appeal it.

'If you look at the laws there, you can appeal if you're wanted elsewhere for political offences or military crimes.

'There are other reasons, like a reasonable belief that the prosecution is based on race, religion, or political opinion.

'What he'll mostly likely go for, if he does appeal the extradition, is that there was something like a legal loophole or a technicality which could see him stay in Dubai.

'At this stage, Dubai wants rid of him nearly as much as gardaí want him on this side of the world,' they said.

Gardaí believe they have more than enough evidence to charge him with a single offence, namely directing the activities of a crime gang. 

The evidence they have gleaned from arrests of senior cartel leader Seán McGovern, whose sentencing at the Special Criminal Court started yesterday, was also key to Kinahan's arrest.

Much of the evidence is from special encrypted phones, initially developed for celebrities to communicate with each other privately, and the information which has been retrieved from these phones is 'utterly damning', security sources explained.

It is suspected Kinahan had been using multiple services including Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) networks on reconfigured devices to co-ordinate surveillance and assassinations.

As the technology grew, so too did the gangsters' paranoia about using the same network.

It is thought the Kinahan Organised Crime Gang went on to use the Ghost network, which facilitates a range of criminal activities, including drug trafficking, money laundering, instances of extreme violence and other serious and organised crime.

In Ireland, the Gardaí's National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau carried out four investigations related to Ghost with regard to four identified crime gangs. These included the Kinahans.

Daniel Kinahan was under surveillance for two days from the time the warrant was secured in Ireland until Dubai police secured their warrant for his arrest.

'They didn't know it was coming at all,' a source familiar with the operation said.

After the arrest, Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly vowed to pursue the remaining members of the Kinahan gang who have caused 'murder and mayhem'.

Mr Kelly issued a statement regarding the arrest of Daniel Kinahan, the first time ever a serving commissioner has named the drug baron publicly.

He added that the remaining leaders of the cartel, Christy Kinahan Sr and Christy Jr, will be hunted down for the pain and misery they inflicted on the country through drug trafficking and violence.

Regarding what happens next following the arrest of Daniel Kinahan, Mr Kelly said he and the force are watching 'with anticipation'.