A son of Gerry “The Monk” Hutch has been denied bail pending his trial for facilitating organised crime involving allegations of high-level “infiltration” of An Garda Síochána.
Father of one Jason “Jamie” Murphy, also known as Jason Hutch (37), has been in custody on remand for two months after being extradited to Ireland from Lanzarote, where he had been living long-term.
His fiancee, Louise Meade, a qualified solicitor, told the High Court in Cloverhill that Murphy was “a fantastic partner and very much a family man”, adding that “his goal, should he be granted bail, would be to get married and hopefully extend our family” and remain in Ireland.
However, Judge Siobhán Lankford held that he was a flight risk and said, “he has means to relocate to another jurisdiction beyond the reach of the State”.
The accused, of The Paddocks, Clontarf, Dublin 3, was returned aboard the Government’s Dassault Falcon 6X jet aircraft on the afternoon of September 10th.
Before that, he had been in custody in Spain since last April, following his detention on foot of a European arrest warrant.
The Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation charged him under Section 72 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006.
Murphy is accused of participating in or contributing to activities to facilitate the commission of a serious offence by a criminal organisation or any of its members.
The acts allegedly took place at an unknown location between April 12th, 2016, and September 29th, 2021, while he resided in Lanzarote. The offence carries a maximum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment on conviction.
Due to the nature of the allegation, he had to bring a High Court bail application.
The judge heard evidence and legal submissions over two days, concluding on Thursday. Delivering her ruling, she stressed the seriousness of the charges, noting they effectively involved infiltration at the “highest echelon of An Garda Síochána”.
The judge also heard the case was linked to the pending Special Criminal Court trial of retired Garda superintendent John Murphy and three serving but currently suspended gardaí.
Murphy has yet to be served with a book of evidence and sent forward for trial.
She said the case was strong and created a real incentive for the accused to flee the jurisdiction.
Meade gave evidence of her regular visits to Murphy during their long-distance relationship, supported by documentation, including emails, phone data and photographs, showing she had frequently visited him in Spain.
She also provided details of Murphy’s visits to Ireland over the years.
Cross-examined by prosecuting barrister Keith Branagan, Meade said she had no intention of fleeing the country and stressed she was committed to her work.
However, the judge ruled that, on the balance of probabilities, Murphy was a substantial flight risk who would not remain in the jurisdiction to attend his trial, expected in about 12 months, if granted bail.
Branagan argued that Murphy had an incentive to flee and could continue his alleged activities from abroad, emphasising that he had not returned to Ireland at all in 2023 or for three-quarters of the following year.
He said the case related to high-level infiltration of gardaí and sending information on to an organised crime group.
The court also heard evidence that Murphy possessed a Nigerian driving licence with a misspelt name, which the defence explained dated back to when he worked there 15 years ago.
O’Leary submitted there was no evidence of continued offending by her client beyond the 2016 to 2021 time frame of the charges, noting her client had no previous convictions or bench warrant history.
She argued it was “ludicrous” to suggest he could abscond to an unidentified country without extradition links, as he would never see his fiancee or child again if any family visit risked detection.
Source: The Irish Times · Tom Tuite
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