Latest news with #Hutch
Sunday World
21-07-2025
- Sunday World
Jonathan Dowdall being prepared for new life overseas in witness protection
Dubliner who testified against Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch is expected to be joined abroad by family members following his imminent release Jonathan Dowdall is expected to be 'spirited away' to begin a new life overseas Former Sinn Féin councillor turned state witness Jonathan Dowdall is planning his move overseas as he enters the Witness Security Programme in the coming months. The Sunday World understands that Dowdall, who testified against Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch, was recently removed from Limerick Prison to finalise details and documentation before his imminent release. It is believed gardaí needed to take photos of him for travel purposes. Sources said Dowdall, whose official release date is late October, could be 'spirited away' from the prison 'at any stage from now on' as specialist gardaí complete plans for his new life overseas. The details of how and when the 44-year-old Dubliner will leave Ireland are known by only a small number of officers to ensure the safety of Dowdall and his family. A spokesperson for the Irish Prison Service (IPS) said it does not comment on individual cases. Prison bosses will be given minimal notice about when gardaí decide Dowdall is to relocated. One source said he could be released in September, a few weeks early, but another said it will all be decided at the 'last minute'. Dowdall and his father, Patrick, tortured and waterboarded a man in 2015 Dowdall is nearing the end of the sentence he received for his role in the murder of David Byrne in the Regency Hotel, Dublin, in February 2016. He was due to go on trial alongside Hutch, but the murder charge against was dropped when he pleaded guilty to facilitating the killing and agreed to testify against Hutch. Dowdall gave evidence during the trial at the Special Criminal Court, and Hutch walked free when he was found not guilty. In 2022, one day before Hutch's trial began, Dowdall was sentenced to four years in prison for facilitating the murder. Dowdall has been in jail since 2017. He and his father, Patrick, tortured and waterboarded a man in 2015 in a dispute over a motorbike. The father and son admitted falsely imprisoning Alexander Hurley and threatening to kill him. He was told his fingers would be pulled off one-by-one with pliers. Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch. Photo: PA People who enter witness relocation for their own protection are often set up with new lives and jobs in Australia or Canada. The family of Limerick publican Roy Collins, who was murdered by members of the Dundon gang, entered witness relocation, but returned in 2019 after 10 years overseas. Latest figures show that in 2023, the State budgeted nearly €1.2m for the programme, but it needed a supplement of €1m more. The Witness Security Programme was set up in 1997 to combat attempts 'to prevent the normal functioning of the criminal justice system', including threats of violence and intimidation of witnesses. It was introduced after the murder of Sunday Independent journalist Veronica Guerin, but has been openly criticised by judges and a former justice minister. Charles Bowden and Russell Warren testified as protected witnesses against John Gilligan over the murder of Ms Guerin, of which Gilligan was ultimately acquitted. Both witnesses were later relocated under assumed identities. In another case in 2011, a Crumlin man who testified against four former criminal associates became a state witness and entered the programme with members of his family. A contract was placed on the life of Joseph O'Brien after he gave evidence in the murder trial of John 'Champagne' Carroll. O'Brien, his girlfriend and family — except one of his sisters, who declined to participate — left Ireland following the trial. The State accepted the witness played a role in Carroll's murder. Jonathan Dowdall is expected to be 'spirited away' to begin a new life overseas Today's News in 90 Seconds - July 21st
Irish Daily Mirror
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Mirror
Steven Gerrard's daughter Lilly welcomes baby with Kinahan gangster's son
Kinahan cartel boss Liam Byrne's son Lee has become a dad after his girlfriend Lilly Gerrard, 21, announced the arrival of their bundle of joy. Lilly, who is the daughter of Liverpool FC legend Steven Gerrard, took to Instagram stories posting a black and white image showing Lee carrying a baby carrier. Adorning the snap, Lilly included the caption "@LeeByrne 2 becomes 3" accompanied by a pink heart and a baby emoji. Lee has been in a relationship with Lilly-Ella since October 2022. Their romance made headlines when it first came to light. Neither are involved in crime. The eldest child of the former England footballer announced she was expecting her first child in January, making Steven a granddad for the first time. Announcing her pregnancy then, Lilly shared a photo of her positive pregnancy test on her Instagram and told her 222,000 followers: "Our little secret. The best news…mini us is on the way." Lilly Gerrard has given birth (Image: Lilly Gerrard Instagram) As celebrations begin following the birth of Lee and Lilly's baby, Lee's dad, Liam, won't be wetting the baby's head in the pub as he is currently under strict house arrest after he was granted early release from prison due to ongoing overcrowding concerns. Crumlin-born gangster Liam (44) was given a five and a half year prison sentence for a plot to stockpile a stash of machine guns. However, earlier this year he was granted early release from Belmarsh Prison in London and has been placed under strict house arrest and has been formally hit with a Serious Crime Prevention Order by UK police which places serious restrictions on his movements and lifestyle. During the court case, Ipswich Crown Court heard how Byrne and co-accused Shaun Kent planted a haul of automatic weapons in a bid to help Kinahan cartel chief Thomas 'Bomber' Kavanagh dupe the authorities. Lilly Gerrard and her partner Lee Byrne (Image: Lilly Gerrard/Instagram) Kavanagh, who is Liam Byrne's brother-in-law, was hoping to lead the National Crime Agency to the guns in a bid to reduce his sentence in a drug conspiracy case. Kavanagh is serving a 21 year prison sentence for conspiracy to import some €36 million worth of drugs into the UK. Liam Byrne's brother David was shot dead in the Regency Hotel shooting on February 5, 2016. Byrne's death significantly escalated the Kinahan Hutch feud - and saw the cartel go on to murder 16 more men. Byrne's boss Daniel Kinahan was the primary target of the Hutch gang that day - and is still living it up in Dubai despite his cartel crumbling around him. Get all the big crime and court stories direct to your phone on our new WhatsApp service. Sign up here
Irish Daily Mirror
13-07-2025
- Irish Daily Mirror
Some of the most memorable images taken by Mirror photographer Mick O'Neill
Our beloved colleague and friend Mick O'Neill was one of Ireland's best known and most widely respected photojournalists. He worked with us for more than 20 years - and produced some of the most memorable news photographs ever taken in Ireland. Right up until two days before his tragic death in an accident in his native Dublin on Saturday, he was working away, striving to get the best photographs for the Mirror and Star. His commitment to the job he loved and excelled at was famous in Irish journalism. Just last week, he photographed our Crime Correspondent Paul Healy in a moving interview with Ryan Casey, the partner of murdered Offaly teacher Ashling Murphy. It was Mr Casey's first media interview. In April of this year, he produced what is undoubtedly the news photograph of the year - when he snapped this stunning image of Michael Kelley in Kenmare, Co Kerry. The photograph was taken on the farm of then missing farmer Michael Gaine, as Kelley used an axe to chop wood. I was standing beside him with a few others - but Mick was the only one of us who heard the sound of wood being chopped and realised it was Kelley. He took out his long lens and waited patiently for several minutes before Kelley appeared in the distance - and he framed the shot perfectly. He also shot exclusive images of Kelley in May after he had been released from Garda custody. Kelley confirmed to Paul Healy he was a suspect for the murder of Mr Gaine - but denied any involvement. The story and Mick's pictures went around the world. He would no doubt have won an award for that axe pic - like the gong he got earlier this year for this shot of a family caught up in a wave in Howth, Co Dublin. In February 2016, he took to the skies of Dublin in a light plane and captured remarkable images of the funeral cortege of slain Kinahan ally David Byrne, murdered by the Hutch mob in the gun attack on the city's Regency Airport Hotel. That killing sparked a bloody spree of revenge by the Kinahan cartel - and Mick was central to our coverage of the feud and the Garda response to it. The day after the Byrne murder, Mick worked the streets of south Dublin and managed to get this exclusive photo of Daniel Kinahan, Freddie Thompson and Thomas Bomber Kavanagh running together to hold a secret meeting. He became an expert in covering An Garda Siochana - and cultivated his own personal relationships with many officers. And he had a knack of being at the right place at the right time - down to instinct and hard work - to grab pictures like this one of a clean shaven Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch enjoying his liberty shortly after he was released from prison in April 2023 after being acquitted of the Byrne murder. He had a unique skill of being able to frame photos perfectly, even though he may have had only seconds to compose the shot. In this example from April 2024, he captured the moment I confronted convicted stalker Raymond Dunne in Tullow, Co Carlow. Mick got the perfect shot of Dunne giving me the evil eyes as I gave him my card and told him I was a reporter. Through hard work and contacts, Mick also heard that Gary Hutch, the Monk's nephew, was back in Dublin in February 2015 and managed to photograph him walking in the city. They were the last photographs taken of him before he was murdered by the Kinahans in Spain in September of that year. He was on the ground to capture powerful images of Garda squads like the Emergency Response Unit and Armed Support Unit mounting snap checkpoints in a desperate bid to keep a lid on the simmering feud, which would eventually claim up to 18 lives. Mick was constantly working and was well known in the industry for putting in long hours to make sure he got the photo. One such example was in June 2018, when he spent several days to get this photo of Scissor Sister killer Linda Mulhall, the first since she was released from prison after serving 15 years for the manslaughter of body in the canal victim Farah Swaleh Noor. And in September 2021, he lay in a forest for hours to photograph Brian Meehan - the killer of crime reporter Veronica Guerin - enjoying a game of pitch and putt at Shelton Abbey open prison in Co Wicklow. A few months later, he and I flew to Spain to confront Meehan's boss John Gilligan. We staked him out for several days and Mick got long distance shots of him before we confronted him on the anniversary of the murder - and he scurried away. He did the same thing when we again confronted him in Torrevieja in June of last year. Mick regularly went overseas on jobs. In early 2008, he spent a month in Fuengirola covering the search for missing Irish teenager Amy Fitzpatrick. And he covered the case from day one, following every tragic twist and turn - here and in Spain. He covered the case of the Peru Two, including Irish woman Michaella McCollum, in Lima in August 2013 and went to Mauritius for the case of murdered Tyrone woman Michaela McAreavey in January 2011. He also went to Lebanon in June 2023, where he captured the work of Irish United Nations peacekeepers on the border with Israel. He enjoyed covering the Defence Forces and he and I would regularly go to the Glen of Imaal in rural Co Wicklow, where military personnel are put through their paces before going on dangerous missions abroad. He connected with everyone he met and put people at their ease. That was not more evident than a photograph from January 2023 - when he photographed little Alejandro Mizsan after he returned to his home in Enniscorthy, Co Wexford following hospital treatment for horror wounds he suffered when attacked by a dog. In 2020, he photographed Sameer Syed at the funerals of his murdered wife amid children in south Dublin. Syed was later charged with their murders and subsequently took his own life. Although Mick was best known in the business for covering crime, he would turn his hand to any subject - and be a top professional. In March 2023, he travelled down to Co Clare to photograph Donald Trump enjoying a round of golf at his Doonbeg resort - the same place where he snapped the now US President's son Eric in 2016. And he had no objection to covering the lighter stories. He regularly drove around Dublin for pics of people enjoying the weather. And he would cover the National Ploughing Championships - producing this image of our Showbiz Editor Sandra Mallon enjoying the mud in Ratheniska, Co Laois in 2023. Mick was a consummate professional, a grafter who put the hours in every day. He had a gift for getting people to like him and for being calm and keeping his sense of humour in even the most stressful jobs. He worked with so many journalists over the years and his current crew of Michael O'Toole, Paul Healy, Sandra Mallon, Nicola Donnelly, Laura Colgan, Keith Falkiner, Billy Scanlan and Danny de Vaal, are all devastated by his loss. As is every other reporter and snapper who ever had the honour of working with him. His friendship, humour, calmness, hard work, and love of tea and buns kept us going on long and hard shifts. He never stopped working. We'll never stop missing him.
The Irish Sun
13-07-2025
- Business
- The Irish Sun
Criminal Assets Bureau searching for new HQ as expansion plan continues in bid to increase crime funds crackdown
THE Criminal Assets Bureau is working to find a new HQ as it continues to expand, we can reveal. The bureau is currently based at Walter Scott House, a building in But chiefs are currently liaising with the Office of Public Works to find new facilities for their 101 staff, Justice Minister Last week, the Cabinet backed the most substantial reform to Ireland's civil asset forfeiture laws since their inception back in 1996. One of its key parts is cutting the time frame for selling assets deemed to be the proceeds of And the CAB will get extra investigative powers, including the freezing of bank accounts that are suspected of holding dirty cash. Read more in News A bill to enact the changes will now go before the Answering a parliamentary question, O'Callaghan said: 'I am aware that the work of CAB is expanding and I am conscious that the expansion of its numbers will require further facilities. 'My department has submitted a proposal for funding for CAB accommodation. "CAB is currently liaising with the OPW to find new accommodation. The Government will continue to support the growth and expansion of CAB to recover assets for the State. MOST READ ON THE IRISH SUN 'It is extremely important for criminals to know that if they stay in Ireland, their assets will be seized if it is not the case that they will be convicted and brought before the courts.' The CAB's major successes in recent years includes stripping Hutch thug James 'Mago' Gately of €600,000 worth of assets. 1 Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan said that his department has submitted a proposal for funding for CAB accommodation. Credit: Alamy
The Journal
04-07-2025
- The Journal
Analysis: MV Matthew seizure was a major success ... but Irish appetite for cocaine remains
THERE IS LITTLE doubt that the taking of the MV Matthew was a huge success story for Irish law enforcement agencies and the Irish military – it was the proof of a concept that had been promised by state agencies for decades. The operation that led to the capture of the vessel, along with its haul of cocaine worth some €157 million, came about through sharing of information among a raft of Irish and international law enforcement and military agencies. It demonstrated how, when it comes to large-scale crackdowns on drug trafficking, the haphazard approach of old, hoping that touts will inform the gardaí is now a lottery of the past. Operation Piano – as the operation was called – was as sophisticated as it can be, with an international web of agencies all working together. The success of the operation, as those working in the drug policy sector explain in further detail later in this piece, must however be balanced against the reality that the demand for cocaine is apparently as high as ever. Supply is also keeping up with that demand too – a point underscored by the fact that the street price of a bag of cocaine has not wavered from the standard €80 in recent years. Earlier today, eight men from Ukraine, Britain and Iran, were sentenced to jail terms ranging from 20 years to 13 and a half years. All were relative bit players in a much larger drama and, speaking after the sentencing, gardaí have vowed to continue their investigation to bring to justice those who directed the operation across the globe. The road to successes like today's has been a long one for gardaí, customs and the military – incremental modernisation, although on a slow drip basis, has come to fruition in the fight against organised crime. The birth of the Joint Task Force in which all of the agencies named above work as a group in largescale drugs interdictions is key. No competing agencies, everyone pulling in the same direction. Often it takes a disaster to move State agencies forward. In many respects the failure to stop the Regency Hotel murder of Kinahan lieutenant David Byrne by members of the Hutch gang was a key catalyst. The resulting feud between the Kinahans and the Hutches enough to bring State cheque books out of locked safes. This was the moment of realisation for those who control policy and funding to wake up to the reality that they could not fund policing on the cheap. The Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (DOCB), empowered and adequately financed in the wake of that incident is also key. One of the senior officers leading the operation went back to college in its wake and studied a masters in the law of the sea. This is not just about the experience of dealing myopically with criminals in Ireland – the police fighting this are educating themselves to a high standard and linking up with other like-minded professionals across the globe. The European and UK-backed initiative of MAOC-N based Lisbon, Portugal is key to their analysing of the minute movements of suspect ships. The agency was set up almost two decades ago specifically to tackle illicit drug trafficking on the seas around Europe. The Defence Forces has a long history of successful seabourne interdictions – arresting IRA gun runners and drug gangs. But the difference with Operation Piano was the truly joint operational nature of it. Many moving parts, all advancing in the same direction. There were years, for instance, of perfecting flying experience for Irish Air Corps pilots, with their expert personnel taking learnings from international partners at training and airshow events abroad. But the elephant in the room must get a mention too. The reality is the Air Corps and Navy are struggling with poor resourcing and a staffing crisis. The men and women of the Defence Forces achieved their side of the tale in spite of those funding shortfalls. The Journal has got unprecedented access to the elite Army Ranger Win g in the past as they practiced the very mission and manoeuvres they used to take the MV Matthew. But they too have been on a journey, now with better kit, tactics and a professional structure of enablers and support that rivals special forces units abroad. Acting as a buttress, behind it all, the State has instituted robust legislation to fight organised crime. The 2016 Criminal Justice Act carried with it sections around the prosecution of people for facilitating and participating in the activities of crime gangs. For the sailors, air crew, special forces operators and law enforcement officers this was a professional triumph – a moment they have spent their professional lives building towards. Advertisement A Ranger Wing operator approaches a cargo ship in an exercise off the East Coast. Irish Defence Forces Irish Defence Forces The burden of policy Often there is a pejorative public discourse that takes the work of those managing the counter narcotics operations as something to be sneered at. Social media posts and public pronouncements by supposed experts speak about those endeavours as pointless. The gardaí and international law enforcement officers we spoke to have said that they see their efforts being about dealing with the international criminals who are profiting from the sale and supply of drugs such as cocaine. For them it is not a war on drugs but a war on organised crime. All say that their view is that the MV Matthew is just one step forward in a strategy to make Ireland as unattractive as possible for the cartels and to make sure they land their contraband elsewhere. The more Operation Pianos that are successful the better for that strategy and there has been substantial success. Several people remain before the courts after operations in Foynes, Wexford and west Cork. The difficulty is that is a long term strategy. The price of a bag of coke, generally around €80 has not dropped. Seizures are occuring on a regular basis across the State in communities both big and small, urban and rural. Many experts, both here and abroad, are advocating for a more nuanced approach. That organised crime groups would continue to be targeted but that their customers, when confronted by the State, would be offered a chance to avoid a criminal conviction in return for participation in a dissuasion system. The Journal has visited such a system in Portugal . Ireland is considering a similar approach. Some of those ideas have already arrived here and the services are beginning to move to a more holistic medical approach. Tony Duffin, formerly of Dublin's Ana Liffey Project and now a consultant working in drug policy, said the broad issue is that reports from European agencies show that more people than ever are using cocaine. Duffin, who worked with people suffering with addiction issues on the streets of Dublin, said that the recreational use of cocaine powder is one issue. He said the use of crack cocaine by heroin addicts to make a powerful concoction known as a 'speedball' is another. Duffin said drug dealers are reducing the price of these drugs to capture the custom of more of those vulnerable drug users. 'The price of cocaine powder is stable but the crack cocaine price fluctuated – not because of a shift in supply but because of the business model,' he said. 'The guards and customs are working really, really hard. No one is slacking here. It's just that it's in the face of a multi billion dollar industry. 'It's a complex issue. There's no silver bullet. There's no simple answer or simple explanation. 'It requires quite a complex response in many ways, although, really, at the end of the day, the health education approach is simply moving the response to drug use to the health side of the house, rather than the criminal justice side of the house,' he added. Duffin said the general accepted success rate of drugs captures is between one and ten percent for the shipments captured – that is at least 90% of drugs shipped to Ireland get through. Garda sources we spoke to believe the figures is somewhere around 5% for the shipments they catch. The MV Matthew berthed in Cobh, Co Cork. Niall O'Connor / The Journal Niall O'Connor / The Journal / The Journal Regardless of the policy side of the house the Joint Task Force has had further success this week. On Wednesday the initiative saw a huge capture of half a tonne or €31m worth of cocaine by gardaí, assisted by the Defence Forces and Customs. The hope is, among those involved in the operations here and abroad, that the more big shows they succeed on, the more likely it is that the problem will move elsewhere and away from Ireland. The issue is that the recreational appetite for the white powder will still remain. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
