An Estonian hitman who was jailed for his role in a Kinahan cartel murder plot will make a bid next month to halt his surrender to Lithuania, where he is wanted over the murder of a pop star's lover, pending the outcome of an appeal in a separate extradition case.
Imre Arakas (62) was jailed by the Special Criminal Court for six years in December 2018 after he admitted to conspiring with others to murder James Gately in Northern Ireland between April 3th and 4th, 2017. He is currently serving his sentence in a segregated block in Portlaoise Prison and is expected to challenge a bid to extradite him to Lithuania on March 23rd.
Lithuanian authorities suspect that ex-wrestler Arakas was allegedly part of a three-man gang that conspired to murder a man who had an affair with famous Lithuanian pop star Vita Jakutiene.
European Arrest Warrant
Lithuanian police are seeking the surrender of Arakas, whose last address is in Sopruse, Tallinn, Estonia, to face charges, which include a count of murder as well as firearms and conspiracy-related charges in relation to the shooting of Deimantas Bugavicius. There is also another warrant for the sole charge of criminal damage.
Arakas was arrested by gardai in a holding cell at the Criminal Courts of Justice building in Dublin in February 2018, on foot of a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) issued by Lithuanian authorities.
However, Arakas was jailed by the non-jury Special Criminal Court for six years in December 2018 after he pleaded guilty to conspiring with others to murder Mr Gately in Northern Ireland between April 3rd and 4th, 2017. He was contracted by the Kinahan crime gang to assassinate Mr Gately and had boasted to his associates in coded text messages that he would take out his target with "one shot to the head".
Arakas appeared today via video-link from Portlaoise Prison before High Court judge Mr Justice Paul Burns in order to fix a date for his hearing.
Separate case
Counsel for the Minister for Justice, Siobhan Ni Chulachain BL, said "one main issue" in Arakas' case is the subject matter in the separate extradition case of Liam Campbell, which is currently awaiting judgment in the Court of Appeal. The barrister said it is expected that Arakas' case will take a full day to hear.
Campbell (58), who was found civilly liable for the Omagh bombing and has been battling extradition for more than 12 years, wants the Court of Appeal to overturn a decision by the High Court surrendering him to Lithuanian prosecutors. The authorities there allege that he was involved in the smuggling of weapons in support of the Real IRA (RIRA) between the end of 2006 and early 2007.
Mr Justice Burns fixed Arakas' extradition hearing for March 23 next. His case is next listed for mention on March 15.
Aoife O'Leary BL, for Arakas, told Mr Justice Burns that the Minister for Justice had outlined on a previous occasion that the hearing would be deferred to await the Campbell decision from the Court of Appeal.
Campbell case judgment
Addressing both counsel, Mr Justice Burns said Arakas' extradition hearing would not proceed in the High Court on March 23rd if the three-judge panel had not delivered judgment in the Campbell case, but said he hoped a decision would be made by then.
The judge asked both lawyers to furnish their legal submissions to the court before next month and explained that they could then amend their submissions if judgement was delivered before March 23 in the Campbell case.
Arakas, who was previously part of a movement to separate Estonia from the former USSR, was remanded in custody until March 23rd.
Last July, Ms O'Leary told the court that her client's sentence was due to expire in October 2029 and the extradition case concerned a "very significant matter of murder, firearms and criminal damage".
Passing sentence at the Special Criminal Court in 2018, Mr Justice Tony Hunt said Arakas had agreed to the "vital role" of pulling the trigger for financial gain and he was prepared to offer his "own detail" on how the murder of Mr Gately was to be performed. The Estonian separatist told his associates in a text message that he would take out his target with "one shot to the head". The judge said the married father-of-two was "ready, willing and able" in his dedicated role.
Arakas had travelled to Ireland from Alicante in Spain on April 3rd, 2017 for the purpose of killing Mr Gately. The foreign national, who is in poor health, has been in custody in Ireland since April 2017.
