State witness Jonathan Dowdall and his father are set to be moved within days to Arbour Hill Prison.
The 44-year-old, who pleaded guilty at the Special Criminal Court to making a room available to the Hutch gang at the Regency Hotel, Swords Road, north Dublin, where the murder of David Byrne, 34, occurred in February 2016, is currently being held in a segregated area of Limerick Prison.
However, the Irish Sunday Mirror has learned that the two men are set to be moved to cushy Arbour Hill Prison in Dublin shortly.
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A source said: “Arbour Hill is where they will most likely be moved to as it fits the criteria as their safety can be guaranteed.
“They were going to be moved straight away if Gerry Hutch’s verdict was guilty but as it was the opposite there wasn’t as much of a rush.
“Arbour Hill Prison is very quiet and there is rarely any trouble.
“Former State witness Charlie Bowden once occupied a cell in the basement of the jail.”
It is understood Dowdall and his family have been formally accepted into the Witness Security Programme following an assessment by gardai.
The source continued: “From their new prison location the Dowdalls will be released and relocated out of the country under the Witness Security Programme.
“There is an even higher risk against Jonathan Dowdall’s life now that Gerry Hutch was found not guilty.
“Associates of the Hutch gang will be out for his blood as well as from the Kinahan cartel.
“He will no doubt be always looking over his shoulder.”
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