Bomb sweeps, sniffer dogs & covert ops – inside ring of steel as Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch goes on trial

THE Special Criminal Court will be swept for bombs during Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch’s trial for the murder of Kinahan cartel member David Byrne.

The Irish Sun can reveal sniffer dogs will be brought into the courts complex at Dublin’s Parkgate Street to search for explosives when the eagerly-awaited trial over the 2016 Regency Hotel attack gets under way next week.

Members of the Gardai’s Armed Support Unit and Emergency Response Unit will also be posted to the court during its biggest ever security operation.

They will be based both inside the main hall, on different floors and also outside the building.

Officers will be posted at the entrance to the court and also at various exit points — including the rear car park at the complex.

A legal source told us: “The Gardai aren’t taking any chances due to the nature of the trial and because of the high ­profile of the individual before the court.”

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Details of Monday’s huge ring of steel were finalised at a meeting between senior gardai and court staff on Friday afternoon.

‘The State isn’t taking any chances with this’

The Monk, 58 — who is classified as a high security prisoner — will be brought in through different entrances, in different vehicles and at different times for each day of the legal proceedings.

Armed officers will also be posted to the building’s cells where Hutch will be held until he’s brought to the court.

And the Gardai’s Public Order Unit will also be stationed at the court to keep supporters of Byrne and Hutch apart.

Cops will also carry out covert operations around the court.

Before being brought to his trial, he will be held in lower ground cells at the courts.

One legal source told us: “The trial on Monday doesn’t come much bigger than this. It would be standard procedure for the Armed Support Unit and Emergency Response Unit to be involved in a trial of this magnitude.”

The source added: “This will be the most expensive security operation ever undertaken at the courts complex.

“The preservation of life and ensuring the judicial process ­continues without interruption is of paramount importance during this trial. The State isn’t taking any chances when it comes to this.”

POTENTIAL THREATS

Ahead of the court proceedings getting underway, the Gardai’s Crime and Security section will analyse any potential threats.

They’ll examine whether there are any specific threats directed against Hutch by the Kinahan ­cartel or if anyone is preparing to disrupt the proceedings by making bogus bomb threats.

The same security operation will remain in place at the Special Criminal Court — even if Hutch’s trial is delayed.

Members of David Byrne’s family and close relatives of Hutch are expected to attend the case.

The Monk’s trial is expected to last around three months but could go into the new year.

People will go through a mini X-ray machine before the trial gets under way in court 11.

But court 12 could also be used as an overflow spot for the public and media.

Court 11 can fit 66 people but Hutch has 18 people on his legal team. Hutch is charged with Byrne’s murder at Dublin’s Regency Hotel on February 5, 2016.

ORGANISED CRIME OFFENCES

And The Monk is appearing in court just five days after he was arrested by gardai investigating “organised crime offences”.

Paul Murphy, 59, from Swords, Co Dublin, is also due to go on trial after he was charged with providing logistical support to an organised criminal organisation.

And Jason Bonney, 50, from Portmarnock, Dublin, is also due to stand trial for participating in the activities of an organised ­criminal gang.

Hutch’s trial will come in the aftermath of Jonathan Dowdall, 44, and his dad, Patrick, 64, pleading guilty to facilitating Byrne’s killing at the Regency.

Both men are now due to be sentenced for their role.

In a dramatic development on Wednesday, former Sinn Fein councillor Jonathan and his dad Patrick admitted to facilitating the killing by allowing a hotel room to be used by a criminal gang

These were the first convictions in the extremely high-profile ­killing which transformed the gangland landscape of Ireland.

Both Jonathan and Patrick, of the Navan Road, Dublin 7, replied “guilty” when the charges were read to them. Both men are on bail but Jonathan was left the court via a secure area and did not use the main public entrance.