GARDAI HAVE ISSUED a European-wide alert for the arrest of Gerard ‘The Monk’ Hutch, sources have confirmed.
Detectives investigating the Regency Hotel shooting in Dublin in 2016, at which David Byrne was shot dead and others were injured, have obtained a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) for the arrest of Hutch.
It is understood, through multiple sources, that the investigation team now believe that they have enough evidence to charge Hutch in connection with the organisation of the murder.
“Information is that he is basing himself out of Spain and Turkey but is regularly moving around various countries in Europe,” a source said. “It is believed he has some property in Florida but it is not believed he is there.”
“Gardaí believe that there is enough evidence to bring him back to Ireland to stand trial. He will be charged with a number of offences,” the source said.
It is understood that the garda investigation team, led by detectives in Ballymun Garda Station, sought the extradition of Hutch, 58, when they received a direction to prosecute by the Director of Public Prosecutions.
It is understood that the alert was issued via the Schengen Information System which gardaí joined in March.
Sources have said that the Regency Hotel attack was launched by members of a gang linked to the Hutch gang in retaliation for the shooting of Hutch’s nephew Gary.
Gary Hutch was shot dead by James ‘Frizzy’ Quinn in Spain in September 2015 following a dispute with the Kinahan Organised Crime Group over money. His one-time friend Quinn is serving a 22-year sentence in a Spanish jail.
An armed gang, which included gunmen dressed as gardaí and also a gunman dressed as a woman in a blonde wig, burst into a boxing weigh-in at the Drumcondra hotel in February 2016.
Daniel Kinahan was believed to be the intended target but he was able to escape, while David Byrne was shot dead by a man carrying an AK47 style rifle in the foyer of the hotel.
Patrick Hutch Junior, another nephew of The Monk, who was accused of being the gunman in the blonde wig, walked free from the Special Criminal Court two years ago when his trial collapsed.
He stood trial in front of the non-jury court having pleaded not guilty – to date no-one has been convicted in relation to the atrocity.
The Regency shooting sparked one of the country’s worst gangland feuds with as many as 18 murders following as a result, mostly involving Hutch associates.
Gardaí attached to Special Crime Operations, backed up by local units, have been involved in the most complex and detailed investigation.
The investigation, which involves international intelligence sharing, has stopped dozens of murder attempts, gardaí have said.
As many as 13 people have beee convicted of murder in Ireland and Spain while more than 30 people, including high level Kinahan OCG members have been imprisoned in Ireland in the UK.
The offences have ranged from possession of drugs and weapons right up to murder.
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