Monk expected to challenge extradition to Ireland

The moment Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch was arrested by Spanish police on the Costa del Sol. Picture: Guardia Civil

The Director of Public Prosecutions and the Garda team investigating the Regency murder may be called on to carry out further work here if Gerry Hutch raises legal objections to his surrender back to Ireland, sources have indicated.

Authorities here are bracing for a long legal battle to get ‘The Monk’ into Irish courts if, as expected, he fights the extradition request in Spain.

Various sources predict this may take many months and could involve him appealing to a higher court if he loses his argument the first time round.

It comes as Spanish police on Tuesday released a video of his arrest last Thursday evening at a restaurant in Fuengirola in Malaga and a subsequent search of his apartment in the centre of the town on Friday.

A Garda officer was present during both the arrest and the search, filmed from behind in the video and in photographs. His attendance at the search was to confirm Hutch’s identity.

In a detailed statement, the Guardia Civil, which conducted the surveillance and subsequent arrest, said the 58-year-old was “accused of murder” by Irish judicial authorities.

It said the Irish authorities considered him responsible for the Regency Hotel attack in February 2016, in which “men from his organisation disguised as police using military weapons murdered a member of the rival clan” at a boxing weigh-in.

That member, David Byrne, from Crumlin, south Dublin, was a senior member of the Byrne organised crime group, the Irish wing of the Kinahan cartel.

The Spanish police said this was a “clear act of vengeance” for the murder of The Monk’s nephew, Gary Hutch, in the town of Mijas, in Malaga. It said, according to the gardaí, Gerry Hutch blamed the Kinahan clan.

'Famous and historical figure'

The statement described ‘The Monk’ as a “famous and historical figure in Irish organised crime”.

It said the man was “very focused” on his security when he exited his apartment last Thursday, taking various counter-surveillance measures, before he went to the restaurant.

He was arrested as he and a female friend sat at a table holding a menu. He was wearing shorts, open-toe sandals and a small bumbag.

He was later brought before an investigating magistrate and the details of the European Arrest and Surrender Warrant given to him.

It is thought he has eight days to indicate if he will voluntarily comply with the warrant or if he will fight it.

Sources here said if Hutch does raise legal objections, that further work may be conducted by the DPP and, in turn, by the murder investigation team at Ballymun Garda Station.

Sources also suspect that if Hutch fails in his fight in the National Court, which is like Ireland’s High Court, he could take it to the country’s Supreme Court given there are constitutional rights involved.

It is thought the Garda evidence against Hutch includes phone intercepts and CCTV footage.