Veteran criminal figure Gerry Hutch was being questioned by Spanish police on Wednesday night as part of an international investigation, into alleged money-laundering, that resulted in his Dublin home also being searched on Wednesday.
Mr Hutch (61) is understood have been arrested on the island of Lanzarote, a popular destination for Irish holidaymakers, where he spends much of his time and where he has invested in property. In recent weeks, footage emerged online of Mr Hutch singing at a karaoke bar on the island.
The Irish Times understands at least two arrests have been made in Spain as part of the money-laundering investigation, with Mr Hutch one of those detained for questioning.
Though the operation is covered by a secrecy order put in place by the Spanish courts, the police in Spain were on Thursday expected to share more information about the day of searches, the arrests and progress with the international inquiry to date.
At least 10 searches were carried out as part of the Spanish operation, centred on Lanzarote, while the home of Mr Hutch in Clontarf, north Dublin, was also searched by gardaí on foot of a request from the Spanish authorities. Garda sources stressed the investigation is a Spanish case and their involvement in the search of the Hutch property was an aid to that inquiry.
Members of the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation were on the ground in Lanzarote to support the Guardia Civil operation. At least one Spanish officer was also present in Dublin when Mr Hutch’s home was searched.
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The Dublin search team was supported by the Criminal Assets Bureau (Cab) and the Emergency Response Unit. The searches in Ireland and by the Spanish police were the latest phase of what is a long-running criminal investigation, with searches also carried out in Spain in 2022 as part of the same case.
In 2019, in evidence by Cab to the High Court – in a case against gang leader Liam Byrne – Mr Hutch was identified as leading what the bureau described as “the Hutch organised crime group” in Dublin. In the same evidence, he was named as a key protagonist on one side of the Kinahan-Hutch feud, with Byrne, Daniel Kinahan, and Freddie Thompson on the opposing side.
[ Why is Gerry Hutch still being targeted?Opens in new window ]
Mr Hutch has been linked to multimillion armed robberies in the 1980s and 1990s. He previously reached a settlement with Cab after a judgment of almost £2 million.
He was arrested in Lanzarote in 2021 to be extradited to Ireland to face a charge of murdering David Byrne (34) at the Regency Hotel attack in Dublin in 2016. However, he was acquitted by the Special Criminal Court last year and since then has divided his time between Dublin and Lanzarote.
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