Kirsty Mckenzie
Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch gave Spanish police the slip before fleeing the Costa del Sol after being tipped off by gangland pals.
The 53-year-old crime boss, wanted over the 2016 Regency Hotel attack, was laying low in the Spanish town Fuengirola when news of the European Arrest Warrant out for him leaked.
The fugitive crime lord, who had been under surveillance by Spanish authorities in Malaga, managed to evade capture and escape to Romania before cops were able to close in.
Hutch, who earned the nickname ‘the monk’ thanks to his tee-total lifestyle, is wanted over his alleged involvement in the murder of David Byrne in Dublin.
It’s believed Hutch had been hiding out in the Costa del Sol, where he is said to own multiple properties.
Officers had been tracking Hutch in Fuengirola, and had hoped to arrest Hutch and others simultaneously in the coming weeks when he suddenly vanished.
Officers were given permission to seek Hutch’s extradition by the director of public prosecutions after its office was provided with transcripts of covert recordings and other intelligence obtained by the National Surveillance Unit (NSU), which investigated the Dublin criminal following the Regency attack.
A master of disguise, the surveillance-savvy fugitive is thought to have grown a beard and ditched his mobile phone in efforts to evade capture.
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