Well-known Dublin criminal Gerry Hutch is likely to apply for bail after being remanded in custody on the Spanish island of Lanzarote, but may spend at least several months in custody, gardaí believe.
The Dubliner (61) was one of nine people who appeared before the courts in Lanzarote last Friday arising from an alleged gang-related money laundering conspiracy. Mr Hutch was remanded in custody, alongside one other suspect, while the other seven people detained were freed on bail.
Mr Hutch is expected to apply for bail and could do so immediately, although Garda sources said it was unclear if he would be released in the short term. They said the extent of the investigation, which has been running for more than two years, as well as Mr Hutch’s previous efforts to evade arrest in Spain may be used by the authorities to object to bail being granted.
In early 2021 a European arrest warrant was issued for Mr Hutch by the courts in Dublin as he was wanted to stand trial for the murder of David Byrne at the Regency Hotel, Dublin, in 2016. He left Lanzarote in March of that year. Gardaí suspect he was tipped-off that his arrest and extradition were being sought. He was not located until August, 2021, when he was eventually arrested in Malaga and extradited to Ireland.
Though he went on trial before the Special Criminal Court for the murder of Mr Byrne he was acquitted last year and walked free from court after 20 months in custody in Spain and Ireland. Since his acquittal he has been spending most of his time in Lanzarote, though also living in Dublin for periods.
However, last Wednesday the Guardia Civil carried out 10 searches in Span, including at Mr Hutch’s Lanzarote home, resulting in his arrest and nine suspects appearing before the courts on Friday. It is alleged the suspects are linked to money laundering in Spain. The Spanish police alleged the money laundering was being carried out by an international crime gang.
As Mr Hutch’s home in Lanzarote was being searched gardaí were also searching his home in Clontarf, north Dublin, after a request for assistance from the Spanish authorities. The first wave of searches in the inquiry had taken place in 2022 in Spain.
The investigation alleges money derived from crime has been laundered – via businesses and property transactions – in Spain, including Lanzarote. Mr Hutch has long had close ties to the island, where he has lived for long periods and where he has property.
A number of other criminals, including members of the Kinahan cartel, who were arrested in Spain for alleged involvement in organised crime eventually secured bail, though only after being detained for many months. In many of those cases once the suspects secured bail most of the charges against them were discontinued.
In 2010, for example, Christy Kinahan snr, the founder of the Kinahan cartel, and his sons Daniel and Christopher jnr were arrested in southern Spain as part of Operation Shovel, which investigated drugs trafficking, money laundering and gun running among other crimes.
The Kinahans were denied bail, though it was eventually granted after the father and sons had spent seven months in custody. Gradually the serious allegations against them were dropped.
Last June it emerged a man identified by US law enforcement as a key figure at the apex of the international Kinahan cartel had just been released from custody in Spain after paying bail of €60,000. Johnny Morrissey was arrested in September 2022 as allegations he laundered money for the cartel were being investigated.
