One of the most wanted criminals in Ireland, Gerry "The Monk" Hutch has been arrested in Fuengirola (Málaga) by the Guardia Civil, after being tracked first passing through Lanzarote. The 58-year-old gang leader was part of the family clan known as Kinahan and is wanted for several crimes both in Ireland and on the Costa del Sol, including murder.
After an internal dispute, there was a split within the clan and another criminal group led by Hutch emerged, which waged a fierce war against its rival gang that has left about twenty deaths on both sides between Ireland and Spain, a confrontation that became even tougher when Hutch's nephew was murdered in 2015 in the Malaga town of Mijas, an action for which Hutch blamed the Kinahan clan.
The Irish authorities hold Hutch responsible for the events that occurred at the Regency Hotel in Dublin in 2016. Members of his gang, disguised as policemen, murdered a member of the rival clan with machine guns during the weigh-in prior to a boxing match, in an act of clear revenge hit as Hutch's brother, Eddie, was gunned down earlier that same year.
Lanzarote to Fuengirola
Sources of the investigation have told the Efe news agency that the Irish Police contacted the Justice Escape Team of the Guardia Civil’s Central Operational Unit (UCO) to coordinate the search for Hutch since they suspected that he had fled to Spain, after was charged with murder at home, which triggered a European Arrest and Surrender Order (OEDE).
The investigations carried out located the fugitive in Lanzarote, but two days before the UCO agents arrived, Hutch caught a flight to Malaga with a return ticket, which he never used. In addition, as the investigators verified, he stopped using his credit card and bank accounts and made payments in cash, so in April the trail was lost.
With the information provided by the Garda Siochana, the UCO agents were closing in on the fugitive, with a follow-up to his wife and his circle of friends, and after various investigations, the agents located him on the terrace of a house in a block of flats in the Plaza de la Constitución in Fuengirola.
He lived there but had a logistical network that provided him with what he needed to avoid having to leave his hiding place, but under close surveillance, last Thursday agents observed how he left his home and walked through the busy streets of the centre of the Malaga town.
He was very focused on his safety and made numerous stops and clothes changes. Finally, he entered a well-known restaurant to eat with his wife and when he was looking at the menu, he was arrested by the Guardia Civil. At the time of his arrest he was carrying a false Croatian passport, the same sources have confirmed.
The Irish authorities issued an International Rogatory Commission to request a search warrant for the Fuengirola property, which took place last Friday, the 13th, and Hutch was placed at the disposal of the Investigative Court number 2 of the National High Court on guard duty, which decreed his entry into prison.
In addition to the UCO Escape from Justice Team, the Garda Siochana and Europol have all collaborated in the operation, as well as the Rapid Action Group (GAR) of the Guardia Civil at the time of the arrest and different units of the Institute's Armed Command in Malaga.
