Gardaí to use private jet to extradite Gerry Hutch

Gardaí are planning to use a private jet to repatriate Gerry Hutch this week, to face a murder charge in relation to the Regency Hotel shooting in 2016.

Mr Hutch is expected to be extradited as soon as Thursday, according to The Irish Times.

His final appeal against extradition to Ireland was rejected by a Spanish Appeals Court, and he is now being held in a Madrid prison.

Sources tole The Irish Times that plans may be delayed depending on the security situation.

The plan is to charter a private plane to bring Mr Hutch to Dublin directly from Madrid, under Garda escort.

Extraditions are typically carried out on scheduled, commercial aircraft but gardaí believe this could be a security risk in Mr Hutch's case.

An extensive security operation will surround Mr Hutch's return to Ireland, including an armed escort to Special Criminal Court 1 at the Criminal Courts of Justice, which is sitting on Thursday morning.

He will face a charge of murder relating to the 2016 attack, which led to a bloody escalation in the Hutch-Kinahan feud.

A number of gardai have already been dispatched to Spain to organise his transportation to Ireland.