Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch detained in Spain in money laundering investigation
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Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch is understood to have been detained in Spain as part of an international police investigation into suspected money laundering.
Multiple security sources have told the that the 61-year-old head of the Hutch family was detained by the Guardia Civil during ten searches in Lanzarote on Wednesday morning.
A close associate of Hutch is also understood to have been held by police.
The dramatic development follows a long-running operation – spanning more than two years – by Guardia Civil and An Garda Síochána.
A high-level team from the Garda National Bureau of Crime Investigation accompanied their Spanish colleagues in the searches.
An officer from Guardia Civil was present in the single search in Dublin, which was carried out at the home of Hutch in Clontarf, north Dublin.
Guardia Civil are expected to release a statement and video today.
The operation comes only days after the veteran criminal garnered extensive media publicity over reports that he was considering running in the upcoming general election.
Hutch has made Lanzarote a home-from-home over the last 10 years and is believed to have a number of properties and business interests there.
It is the second time Hutch has been the target of Guardia Civil, which tracked him down in August 2021 to Fuengirola on the Costa del Sol on foot of an EU extradition warrant from Ireland.
Hutch, a father of four, was extradited back to Ireland where he was charged with the murder of David Byrne at the Regency Hotel in February 2016.
Daniel Kinahan, the operational head of the Kinahan crime cartel, narrowly escaped being shot in the infamous attack.
It sparked the country’s most intense revenge campaign ever seen, with nine people shot dead on the orders of the cartel before the close of 2016, including three innocent people.
The Special Criminal Court heard that Hutch was the ‘head’ of the family but, in April 2023, the non-jury court found him not guilty of Byrne’s murder.
Since then Hutch was been seen in public both at his Clontarf home and around his childhood home in the nearby north east inner city.
In a statement earlier on Wednesday, Garda headquarters said the searches were part of ongoing liaison between GNBCI and Guardia Civil in Spain, targeting a transnational organised crime group, located both in Ireland and Spain.
A previous search targeting the group was conducted in Lanzarote in June 2022 by Guardia Civil on behalf of GNBCI.
It is understood that Spanish police gathered extensive evidence in relation to money laundering.
The statement issued by Garda HQ confirmed that searches had taken place in Spain and Ireland targeting a “transnational organised crime group suspected to be involved in money laundering across a number of jurisdictions”.
"Ten searches were conducted in Spain. Gardaí from the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation are present in Spain supporting the Guardia Civil. One search has taken place at a residential property in Dublin following receipt of an ILOR (International Letter of Request/ Mutual Legal Assistance) from the Spanish authorities.
"The search in Dublin was carried out by Gardaí attached to the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation. An Officer from the Guardia Civil is in attendance and the search is supported by the Criminal Assets Bureau and the Emergency Response Unit .”
It added: "This operation is part of ongoing liaison between the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Guardia Civil in Spain, which targets a Transnational Organised Crime Group who are located both in Ireland and Spain."