A man has been jailed for nine years for acting as a conduit between senior members of the Kinahan cartel and a sub-cell set up to murder Patsy Hutch.
Michael Burns, of no fixed abode, was one of three people jailed today for their involvement in a plan to kill the older brother of Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch.
Between February 1st and March 10th, 2018, Michael Burns used an encrypted phone to communicate with a senior member of the Kinahan Crime Organisation, referred to in court as ‘Suspect 1’ about the planned gangland murder of Patsy Hutch.
He passed instructions down to what were described as ‘dispensable footsoldiers’
He provided them with burner phones and vehicles and was secretly recorded showing them getaway routes.
Gardaí moved in on the hit team on the day of the planned murder.
Two others, including the lookout, were jailed for five years for their roles.
Mr. J Tony Hunt spoke about the “insidious and destructive nature’ of the Kinahan organisation they were working for.
He said the gang preys on the vulnerable, who then take huge risks for negligible rewards. The spotter told Gardaí it was the drugs that took him in.
He said he’d do anything to get his next fix and they told him they’d clear his drug debt if he helped them.
*Reporting by Frank Greaney
