Brian Meehan, the man facing extradition to this State on charges of murdering the journalist Veronica Guerin, is due to appear before an examining magistrate in Amsterdam today. The preliminary procedure, under Dutch criminal law, will require that the magistrate can satisfy himself that Mr Meehan is justifiably in custody and that the offence for which he is being held is punishable by a custodial sentence of more than 12 months.
It is expected that Mr Meehan (32), from Crumlin, will be held in prison for no more than 30 days before facing extradition.
John Traynor, the other Dublin man arrested with Mr Meehan on Friday night outside Amsterdam's Central Station, but later released, is believed to be in the city still, although his whereabouts were not known.
It had been thought that Mr Traynor (49), from Knocklyon, would also be kept in prison, as it is known that he is also wanted in connection with the murder of Ms Guerin. Senior Garda sources said over the weekend that no warrant was present in Amsterdam on Friday for Mr Traynor's extradition and it had not been possible to have him detained.
He was released from custody along with a 21-year-old Dublin woman only hours after they were arrested with Mr Meehan during what is reported to have been a highly dramatic operation by heavily-armed Dutch police. The two men and the woman were surprised as they walked from the station. They were handcuffed and hooded before being driven to a police station.
It remains unclear why no warrant was served on Mr Traynor, who was said to have suffered from shock during the arrest and to have shown signs of having a seizure.
There has been considerable co-operation between Dutch and Irish police in the past year in the investigation into Ms Guerin's murder. Dutch police have visited the investigation headquarters in Lucan. Garda sources last night said they expected that Mr Meehan would be returned to the Republic to face charges within the next month.
The Republic has well-established extradition arrangements with Holland. Last year, Thomas Clarke, a Dublin criminal who escaped from custody here in 1996, was arrested by Dutch police and extradited to Ireland within a month.
Gang suspected of Cahill killing: page 6