A 37-year-old Irish man the Spanish authorities have described as "one of the leaders" of the Hutch Organised Crime Group is to contest his extradition to Ireland.
The man was arrested in Spain yesterday on foot of a European arrest warrant issued by the High Court in Dublin.
Gardaí are seeking his extradition back to Ireland to face charges here.
The man appeared by video link before a judge in Lanzarote this morning and has been remanded in custody after he declined to be extradited voluntarily.
In a statement this morning, the Spanish National Police described him as "one of the leaders" of the Hutch Organised Crime Group and said he directed the Group's "financial transactions."
The statement also said that the man "is considered one of the leaders of the criminal organisation's intelligence cell and ... managed its money laundering operations".
Officers from the Garda National Bureau of Criminal investigation were present when the man was arrested in the town of Tías in The Canary Islands.
Spanish police say they "initiated an operation to locate him, which took place yesterday on the island of Lanzarote in conjunction with members of the Irish Garda who were expressly deployed to Spain".
A video of the arrest has also been released.
The Hutch Organised Crime Group has been involved in an ongoing feud with the rival Kinahan Organised Crime Group which has so far cost 18 lives.
In a second statement this afternoon, the Spanish authorities confirmed the man had appeared in court by video link.
The courts service said he "appeared via videoconference from Lanzarote before the duty judge, Santiago Pedraz, the head of the Fifth Section of the Central Court of First Instance."
It also said that "the defendant" had refused to be extradited to Ireland and that the judge ordered his detention "while the European Arrest Warrant is being processed."
