Daniel Kinahan, 49, turned up in Dublin’s Special Criminal Court on Sunday after being extradited from Dubai following his April arrest.
He faces charges for directing the activities of a criminal organisation between October 2015 and April 2017, a prosecution that the court deemed serious enough to keep him in custody.
During the hearing he told the judge that he would not receive bail, a statement the court accepted as an indication of his status as a flight risk.
The Kinahan cartel has been implicated in trafficking drugs and firearms across the globe for more than two decades, according to the UK National Crime Agency.
BBC Ireland correspondent Chris Page was present to report on the proceedings from inside the courtroom.
