IRISH gangster Gerard ‘The Monk’ Hutch has lost a second appeal against extradition to Ireland from Spain.
The 58-year-old is wanted by Irish police for questioning in connection to the murder of David Byrne during a boxing match weigh-in at Dublin’s Regency Hotel in February 2016.
He was detained as he browsed a menu and prepared to order lunch in a restaurant in Fuengirola on Spain’s Costa del Sol.
He had been hiding out in a spacious flat in the town’s Plaza de la Constitucion next to the main church in the heart of the busy resort.
David Byrne was shot dead when a five-strong squad stormed a boxing weigh-in at the hotel. It is thought to have been part of a feud between the Hutch and Kinahan gangs.
Spanish police had lost The Monk’s trail when he disappeared from Lanzarote where he had been hiding out for a number of years.
Police tracked him down by focusing on known associates in the hope that they would lead them to his bolthole.
He was finally traced to the apartment allegedly owned by a criminal associate and placed it under surveillance.
On August 12, Hutch left his hiding place and walked through the busy streets to a local restaurant with a female companion.
Unbeknown to him, undercover police were following on foot.
“He was very focused on his safety, making numerous stops and speed changes”, said a police spokesman.
Once seated at the table with a female companion, police moved in, including a uniformed member of the Irish Garda.
Spanish judges have refused his appeal against extradition on a European Arrest Warrant, but said that should he be convicted, he should be returned to Spain to serve his sentence as he has residency here. He is being held in custody in Madrid.
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