‘The Monk’ Gerry Hutch has reportedly been arrested in Spain as part of an international probe into suspected money laundering.
The 61-year-old head of the Hutch clan was detained by Spain’s Guardia Civil amid ten searches in Lanzarote on Wednesday morning, following a long-running operation in collaborative efforts by both Guardia Civil and An Garda Síochána.
The operation follows the rumblings that the veteran criminal was considering running in the upcoming general election, causing unease amongst fellow potential candidates and politicians notably Minister Pascal Donohoe and Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald.
Hutch is believed to have a number of properties and business interests in the Spanish island of Lanzarote for many years.
An officer from Guardia Civil was present in the single search in Dublin, which was carried out at the home of Hutch in Clontarf.
Hutch was also tracked him down in August 2021 to Fuengirola on the Costa del Sol on foot of an EU extradition warrant from Ireland, before he was returned home where he was charged with the murder of David Byrne at the Regency Hotel in February 2016.
However he was acquitted by the Special Criminal Court of that charge last year.
In a statement on Wednesday, Garda headquarters said the searches were part of ongoing liaison between GNBCI and Guardia Civil in Spain, targeting a transnational organised crime group, located both in Ireland and Spain.
It is understood that Spanish police gathered extensive evidence in relation to money laundering.
