GERRY The Monk Hutch is said to have secretly left Ireland to lap up the sun in Spain’s Lanzarote.
It’s understood the notorious crime boss, 60, flew abroad from Dublin Airport on May 14, just weeks after his acquittal over the murder of David Byrne at the Regency Hotel.
Gardai were unaware that The Monk was planning to leave the country, the Independent reported.
However fears were rising for Hutch‘s safety following his freedom with a team of minders and spotters to protect him against a hitman’s bullet while home for his slain brother’s funeral in April.
The Monk was a target walking the streets of Dublin as the Kinahan-Hutch feud rages on.
But a €350,000 Spanish hideaway waiting for Hutch could be his safe haven as he avoids rivals in Ireland.
The freed crime boss bought the swish penthouse around a year before he was arrested in the Costa del Sol resort of Fuengirola in August 2021 and extradited to Ireland to face trial for the Regency Hotel murder of Kinahan lieutenant David Byrne.
His property assets include a lavish three-bedroom top-floor flat in Lanzarote which measures around 135 square metres with the 38 square metre terrace included.
Hutch also owns an underground car parking space in a communal garage at the end of the road.
An insider said the property would suit The Monk’s needs as it’s “in a more Spanish part of town, so not the sort of place where he’s going to be instantly recognised”.
The swish three-bedroom, two-bathroom flat on the top floor of a modern six-storey apartment block is a short drive away from the property he bunkered down in ahead of his August 12 2021 arrest at an Italian restaurant called Limoncello.
Its immaculate state makes it stand out from some of the more dated buildings surrounding it.
A sign in Spanish above the glass-plated front door warns: “Area controlled by security cameras.”
It leads into a short corridor lined with a large mirror above a grey-marble chip floor and a lift beyond it giving access to the five floors of residential flats above shops and other commercial premises on the ground floor.
Hutch is the sole owner of the property. No-one was answering the street intercom buzzer, thought to be connected to a camera on Monday or the buzzers for the floor immediately below.
Locals said they thought the apartment was usually empty and the metal shutters on the windows overlooking a large terrace the flat boasts with stunning views of the Mediterranean, were pulled down.
One said: “I’d be lying if I told you I had any idea who the owner is.
“I think someone may have stayed in the flat briefly last year but I never saw them.”
Nearby amenities mean the multi-millionaire will never have to stray too far from the property if he wants to lie low but stay stocked up on food and groceries.
And there is a barber’s shop in the vicinity where he can have a beard trim if he decides to grow back the facial hair he was sporting when he was set free last week before going back to his traditional clean-shaven look hours later.
An insider said: “Everything Gerry might need is on his doorstep but at the same time it’s in a more Spanish part of town so not the sort of place where he’s going to be instantly recognised if he doesn’t stray too far.”