Criminal mastermind Gerry Hutch will "go dark" as he zig-zags his way across Eastern Europe ahead of landing in Spain to manage his €10million worth of assets - before fleeing once more, senior sources predict.
The Monk is set to take every measure to "avoid a bullet" as he's expected to leave his plush home in the The Paddocks in Clontarf, Dublin over the coming days and depart the country. The 60-year-old has been a free man since Monday afternoon after he was acquitted of the murder of Kinahan lieutenant David Byrne at the Regency Hotel over seven years ago.
Still at the top of the Kinahan cartel's hit list, Hutch is expected to make every attempt to avoid any attention, just over a year-and-a-half on from being among the most wanted from around the world. Senior sources have told how he must head to Spain to access his money and manage his portfolio.
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But the gardai believe that he will not go directly to Spain but will instead "go dark", travelling across Eastern Europe - including Romania and Bulgaria - for three months to six months. At times, it is suspected that he will double back on himself before he ever makes it to Spain.
Investigators also anticipate he'll use burner phones and only stay in a location for a short period of time before moving on again. One source explained: "The fact is, Hutch has to get to Spain. That's where he can access his wealth. But he doesn't want to go there directly. He will go dark, as in, completely off the radar.
"At times he'll take a route and come back the way to a destination he had already crossed, but take a seperate route from there. That's the way he operates." The source added: "The police aren't a concern for him. When he was on-the-run for five years before his arrest, he was avoiding being detected by authorities while looking over his shoulder for a Kinahan gunman.
"But now his priority is solely on avoiding a bullet. He's well aware that even with how things have gone for the Kinahans over the past year, they have the resources and the contacts at their disposal to get him if they get a sniff or any solid idea where he is."
When Hutch makes it to Spain, it's expected he will rearrange his portfolio - which includes investments in pubs and restaurants - to drum up more cash and to access money he already has. Hutch is worth around €10million, with property investments in Spain, Bulgaria, Turkey as well as the UK and Ireland. He also has a significant cash pile.
Sources have also told the Irish Mirror that there is a belief he will end up in North Africa, where he is outside of Europe but still has easy access to the region. Another source explained: "It's highly thought that he'll head to north Africa.
"He would be invisible down there and it would be him off the grid again. But it'll also mean he has easy access to Spain, Italy and the Balkans with his interests in Bulgaria there."
Gardai also believe he will travel alone, without any associate, over the coming months. The source said: "He doesn't trust a sinner, that's the way he has always been and that's the way it'll always be.
"He is going to ensure he is not followed. When he does settle down in a location, it's at that stage when his wife is most likely to join him."
Hutch spent 20 months behind bars before being freed at the Special Criminal Court on Monday. The Monk had turned 60 in jail on Tuesday, April 11.
But less than a week later after getting a taxi from the Criminal Courts of Justice, he got to reunite with relatives at his sister's house in the north inner city.
He later returned to his plush home where he raised his children in leafy Clontarf and has been pictured sporting a new tight haircut and his bushy beard gone.
His home is being continually surveilled by gardai who fear another outbreak of violence in the feud which claimed the lives of his nephews Gary, Gareth and Derek along with his brother Eddie and two close pals Noel "Kingsize" Duggan and Noel Kirwan.
Patrols have also been upped in Dublin's north inner city on Hutch territory, with the threat on his relatives remaining severe.
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