THE Kinahan cartel hatched a plot to whack Gerry Hutch at the funeral home where his brother Eddie’s remains were being held in February 2016.
The Irish Sun today reveals for the first time how Spanish investigators received intelligence that an “enforcer” for Daniel Kinahan’s mob planned to kill the veteran gangster, 60, as he paid his respects to his innocent brother.
Detectives also identified the enforcer who remains a key player within the cartel and is now also in the sights of the US Government’s Drugs Enforcement Agency.
The feud is generally believed to have begun with the murder of Gerry Hutch’s 34-year-old nephew Gary Hutch in September 2015.
A file read: “Gerry Hutch did not attend Gary Hutch’s funeral but did attend the funeral home.
“Intelligence indicates that the enforcer for the Kinahan Organised Crime Group is currently in Ireland.
“This individual intends to monitor Jennings Funeral Home and assassinate ‘The Monk’ when he arrives.”
But the sinister plot was abandoned after Gardai swamped the north inner city in the weeks after taxi driver Eddie’s murder on February 8, 2016. It is believed the attack on Eddie was in direct revenge for the murder of David Byrne three days earlier.
The Monk did indeed turn up at his brother’s funeral — but it was to be his last public appearance on Irish soil before he was charged in court with the murder of Byrne.
One investigator said: “The intelligence gives an insight into what law enforcement agencies had to contend with at that time.
“Every piece of intelligence had to be examined and precautions taken to stop people from being killed.
“The Kinahans were desperate to kill Gerry Hutch, especially after the Regency, and had mobilised all of their top men to try and kill him.
“The fact they were prepared to send a senior member to Dublin to take him out shows just how desperate they were. The cartel wouldn’t think twice about killing someone as they paid respects to a loved one at a funeral home.”
As part of their intelligence gathering in the days after Byrne’s murder at the Regency Hotel on February 5, 2016, investigators in Spain, Holland and Ireland analysed the capabilities of both factions.
Law enforcement agencies worked closely together in those countries due to the two Irish gangs’ links to Spain, Holland and the UK.
In the days after Eddie’s murder, Gardai received intelligence that the Kinahan cartel were trying to source rocket launchers from Moroccan crime boss Naoufal Fassih, at the time based in Amsterdam.
And they also received intelligence the Hutch Organised Crime Group were trying to source more AK47 assault rifles for the ongoing feud.
The Hutch gang’s bid to source the assault rifles also led to dissident republicans in Portlaoise Prison asking their leaders on the outside how the Hutch team had access to the deadly weapons.
And rumours in Dublin’s south inner city also pointed to the gang of David Byrne’s brother Liam having access to AK47s. One local told us: “There was all sorts of talk at the time about the type of weaponry Liam Byrne had at his disposal. (Liam) Byrne was a big mouth who regularly liked to mouth off about how powerful he was.
“There’s no doubt they had access to weapons and were prepared to use them. The cartel hit teams didn’t care who got in their way and this was proven by the murder of Martin O’Rourke.”
Martin O’Rourke was an innocent caught up in the crossfire of the cartels’ feud on April 14, 2016.
FEUD VIOLENCE
Locals in the Oliver Bond flats complex also told how Liam Byrne had confronted a gunman as he stormed into the Regency.
Another resident said: “There was a lot of talk about Liam Byrne hitting one of the gunmen with a chair.
“His associates were also pointing out that Byrne pulled the mask of one of the gunmen and recognised him as a Hutch associate.
“This was never established but Liam Byrne was keen to get this message out there.”
Despite the gang war being played out on Irish streets, Spanish police obtained intelligence that notorious gangster John ‘The Colonel’ Cunningham had warned Liam Byrne to “curb his spending”.
Cunningham issued the warning in a phone call after David Byrne’s lavish funeral and because Liam Byrne was continuing to lead the high life. As the feud progressed, attempts by both factions to bring in the weapons ended in failure.
In January 2017 the cartel’s access to weapons was further undermined when officers from the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau discovered a weapons storage facility at the Greenogue Industrial Unit in Dublin. Following that seizure, the GNDOCB investigators also arrested senior members of the mob, seizing their cash and deadly firearms.
As the weeks progressed after the murder of Eddie Hutch, Gardai were also concerned the cartel’s enemies were plotting to kill ‘Fat’ Freddie Thompson by hurling grenades into a pub he went to.
Gardai were also concerned about weapons Thompson had access to and were fearful of him targeting associates of Gerry Hutch in the north inner city.
Their concerns over Thompson playing a direct role in the feud were realised in July 2016 when he was involved in the murder of Daithi Douglas.
Douglas was targeted by the cartel because they wrongly thought he was part of the Hutch hit team that targeted key cartel players at the Red Cow Hotel in November, 2015.
Gardai are still hunting Eddie Hutch’s killers today as part of Operation Raglan, but they have not brought any charges.
There have been no murders in the feud since January 2018, with the GNDOCB smashing many of the cartel sub-cells recruited to kill their rivals.
Cartel members who have been caged include Alan Wilson, for an attempt on the life of Gary Hanley, Paedar Keating for directing an OCG’s activities and brothers Glen and Gary Thompson over a failed plot to kill Patsy Hutch, another brother of Gerry Hutch.
And now that The Monk’s trial is over — the US Government’s bid to nail the Kinahan cartel leadership continues.
