Murder of Eddie Hutch: Gardaí quizman, 40, on feud murder of Gerry “The Monk” Hutch’s brother in 2016

Eddie “Neddy” Hutch, 58, was shot dead outside his home on Poplar Row in Dublin’s north city center three days after the Regency Hotel murder in February 2016.

Mr Hutch’s fatal shooting was seen as a retaliatory attack by the Kinahan gang for the killing of their associate David Byrne at the hotel.

This morning, Gardaí investigating the Hutch murder arrested a man in his early 40s as part of the investigation.

The suspect is being arrested under Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act 2007 in relation to the offense of murder with a firearm. He can be detained for up to seven days.

Independent.ie believes the man is originally from downtown North and is believed to be a “key figure” within the Kinahan cartel.

The man has been living abroad in recent years, particularly in Spain after Garda cracked down on the crime gang in Ireland.

He is also suspected of having been a “mastermind” behind the attacks on the Hutch family in the early years of the feud.

A source said: “This arrest is significant as this man would be considered a high-ranking member of the Kinahan gang involved in arranging drug shipments and transporting firearms.”

It is the latest in a string of arrests over the past seven years by Gardaí investigating the murder.

Last month, one of the cartel’s main hitmen, in his 40s, was arrested on suspicion of murder while serving a lengthy sentence at Mountjoy Prison. Subsequently, he was not charged.

The long-running investigation also arrested a criminal suspected of having been the cartel’s “eyes and ears” in Dublin city center at the height of the feud.

The investigation also arrested men suspected of providing logistical support, such as retaining ammunition and withholding information.

Eddie Hutch was approached by several gunmen as he pulled up in his cab in front of his home on February 8, 2016.

A silver BMW 3 Series vehicle believed to be the getaway car was found abandoned a short distance away on St Patrick’s Parade in Drumcondra.

Eddie Hutch was the first of six people associated with the Hutch gang to be murdered by the Kinahan gang in 2016 following the Regency murder.

The gang row has claimed a total of 18 lives since the 2015 killing of Gary Hutch.

Eddie Hutch’s younger brother, The Monk, was acquitted by Special Criminal Court last month after being found not guilty of murdering Kinahan cartel gangster David Byrne in the Regency attack.