Kinahan plot to kill ‘The Monk’ in Spain revealed

 • 1h ago

Cartel leader Daniel Kinahan is believed to have arranged for weapons to be transported to the Canary Islands for the botched hit on Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch in Lanzarote.

The Irish Independent can reveal the suspected involvement of key cartel associates, including Daniel Kinahan, in the plot to murder Hutch more than a month before the 2016 Regency Hotel shooting.

It comes as The Monk has been sighted at the inner-city home of a relative, where it’s understood he has been staying since he was acquitted of murder on Monday.

There was a policing plan in place at the location on Monday and again yesterday, with a significant garda presence.

The Regency attack in 2016, which claimed the life of Kinahan associate David Byrne, was carried out just over a month after The Monk survived an attempt on his life in Spain.

Two gunmen attempted to shoot him in a Lanzarote bar on New Year’s Eve. Several senior cartel associates have been identified as suspects in the plot, including Kinahan, whom gardaí believe arranged for the weapons to be transported to the Canaries.

This is believed to have been done through a “key member” of the cartel’s network, based in Spain, who later supplied the handguns to the Dublin hit team sent to Lanzarote.

Gang member Sean McGovern, whom gardaí want to charge with a feud murder, is also suspected of having organised meetings between the firearms supplier and the gunmen.

The murder bid failed after The Monk recognised the shooters and fled the bar.

Just over a month later, a five-man team entered the Regency Hotel in Dublin and shot David Byrne dead. McGovern was injured in the attack.

Meanwhile, it has emerged that a request to allow Hutch leave court on Monday through a side entrance was denied, and he had to walk out of the front door to a media scrum.

Later on Monday, The Monk was sighted at the inner-city home of a relative, where it’s understood he has been staying since his release.

Gardaí put in place a policing plan covering the wider area on Monday evening, which remained in place yesterday, with a significant garda presence. No incidents were reported. 

The office of the DPP has so far refused to comment on the State’s unsuccessful prosecution of Hutch. Its case relied on audio surveillance and testimony from convicted criminal Jonathan Dowdall.

The non-jury court found the attack was carried out by the Hutch family and that Hutch had control of the weapons, but said it was not proved he was one of the gunmen.

Shortly before 4pm on Monday, Hutch (60) walked from the Special Criminal Court.

He declined to answer any questions as he left. His legal team then flagged down a taxi that took him away from the courts.

Following the acquittal, questions have been raised over the decision to charge him with murder.

Ms Justice Tara Burns raised serious concerns about the reliability of key witness Dowdall. He was originally charged with murder, but agreed to give evidence for the prosecution shortly before the trial started and pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of facilitating the murder gang.

The non-jury court found that the surveillance audio relied on by the prosecution did not contain admissions that Hutch was one of the hotel gunmen dressed in fake garda uniform.

Ms Justice Burns said one would wonder what the prosecution case intended to be prior to Dowdall turning State’s evidence.