Garda 'did not consult DPP' before destroying tracker records from jeep, Hutch trial told

Defence lawyer questions how former head of NSU could 'in good faith' have made a decision to destroy potentially relevant evidence 

Members of the Garda Armed Support Unit on duty at the Special Criminal Court on Tuesday, where the trial of Gerry Hutch for the murder of David Byrne continues. Picture: Collins Courts

The former head of the National Surveillance Unit did not consult the senior investigating officer on the Regency Hotel murder investigation or the DPP when he destroyed records from a tracker device deployed on ex-Sinn Féin councillor Jonathan Dowdall's jeep, the Special Criminal Court has heard.

Former Detective Inspector Ciaran Hoey said he did not believe the records would be used in the prosecution when he ordered their destruction months before the Regency Hotel murder trial began last month. He also said that tracker evidence had never been previously used in the history of the Surveillance Act.