A Garda has claimed privilege when asked whether a vehicle that allegedly contained Gerry Hutch and Jonathan Dowdall was being tracked.
The development came on what is the ninth day of the trial of Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch over the murder of Kinahan cartel associate David Byrne at Dublin’s Regency Hotel on February 5, 2016.
Hutch (59), dressed today in a navy blazer, white shirt and brown trousers, listened intently as his defence team cross-examined several members of the Garda National Surveillance Unit (NSU) today.
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And in one of these exchanges, a Garda who cannot be identified and was referred to as ‘Member CZ’ declined to say whether a vehicle that allegedly contained the accused was being tracked at the time it was observed.
The garda, who is a member of the NSU, was giving evidence about what they allegedly observed - namely the movements of 161D Toyota Land Cruiser coming from the north and into the Ardee area of Co Louth at 11:36 pm on March 7, 2016.
The officer stated that they observed Jonathan Dowdall as being the driver of the car - and the front-seat passenger as being Gerry Hutch.
Both individuals would be known to them, the garda told the court - describing how Mr Hutch was allegedly sitting in the passenger seat and wearing a black beanie hat.
