Gerry Hutch denies the murder of Kinahan Cartel member David Byrne. Image: File photo . Credit: RTÉ. JUDGES AT THE Special Criminal Court have ruled that ten hours of conversations between murder accused Gerard ‘The Monk’ Hutch and ex Sinn Fein Councillor Jonathan Dowdall that were captured by a garda bugging device are admissible in the trial, despite Dowdall’s bugged jeep having been outside of the State during the majority of the recordings.
Following lengthy legal arguments by counsel for both sides in the trial, presiding judge Ms Justice Tara Burns today delivered the judgement of the three-judge court. The judge said that whilst the court found that the National Surveillance officers “had no power” to gather evidence in Northern Ireland nonetheless the conversations ought to be admitted in the “interests of justice”.
The second part of the defence’s challenge centred on what they submitted was the “illegal use” of the audio device outside the jurisdiction. It was the defence’s contention that any material gathered by gardai from the bugging device in Dowdall’s jeep from when it crossed the border at 3.10pm at the Carrickdale Hotel in Dundalk Co Louth until 10.50pm that night when it re-entered the jurisdiction at Aughnacloy in Co Monaghan was outside the remit of the Criminal Justice Act 2009.
The Special Criminal Court has viewed CCTV footage of what the State says is Hutch making two separate journeys to Northern Ireland with Jonathan Dowdall on February 20 and March 7, 2016, just weeks after Byrne was murdered. Dowdall has been jailed by the Special Criminal Court for four years for facilitating the Hutch gang in the notorious murder of Kinahan Cartel member David Byrne.
When I heard of the tapes made in NI,first thing I thought was that sounds dodgy I wonder is it legal…yet the guards who study law didn’t hole.Guilty or not it’s deffo a stitch up.I always believed in the SCC 100%.Not now.
Illegal but can be used? That seems a bit fucked up.
Stitch up
Excellent news.
No need of proof in this case, lock him up and throw away the key
Looks like that one will go to Europe. ECHR?
Load of bollocks should be thrown out Justice for hutch