The Special Criminal Court has heard that Gerard Hutch was watched by undercover gardaí as he and a former Sinn Féin councillor met an IRA man in Donegal who was subsequently caught with firearms linked to the murder at the Regency Hotel.
Mr Hutch, 59, with an address at The Paddocks, Clontarf in Dublin has pleaded not guilty to the murder of David Byrne during a boxing weigh-in at the Regency Hotel on 5 February, 2016.
His two co-accused, Paul Murphy, 59, of Cherry Avenue, Swords, Co Dublin and Jason Bonney, 50, of Drumnigh Wood, Portmarnock, Dublin, have pleaded not guilty to participating in or contributing to the murder of David Byrne by providing access to motor vehicles on 5 February, 2016.
A member of the Garda National Surveillance Unit told the Special Criminal Court today that he was on duty two weeks after the murder, on the afternoon of Saturday, 20 February, 2016 in the Killygordon area of Donegal, when he saw Gerard Hutch, Jonathan Dowdall and IRA member Shane Rowan.
He told the court that Mr Hutch and Mr Dowdall were being driven by another man and that they met Rowan at his home.
He confirmed to the prosecution that the man sitting in the dock, Mr Hutch, is the same man he saw that day.
The court was also shown photographs taken by the undercover officer, who was referred to as Witness L, which the prosecution said were Mr Hutch and Dowdall at the back of a Land Cruiser at Rowan’s house in Donegal. Mr Dowdall is seen putting a bag into the boot.
Another undercover surveillance officer testified that just over two weeks later on 7 March 2016, he watched Mr Hutch and Dowdall in a Land Cruiser drive up the M1 motorway into Northern Ireland.
Witness AG said he pulled back when the vehicle crossed the border.
He also told the court that two days later in Dublin he saw Mr Hutch’s brother Paddy Hutch driving a car with Rowan in the passenger seat.
An hour later, he said he saw the two men in different cars and Paddy Hutch pull up in a car alongside Rowan’s car. He said the windows were open and he was "under the impression" there was a conversation between them before the cars drove off in different directions.
Rowan was arrested just over a half an hour later and caught with three assault rifles, which have been linked to cartridges used at the Regency Hotel on the day Mr Byrne was shot dead.
Rowan was jailed for seven-and-a-half years.
Dowdall, a former Sinn Féin councillor, is serving four years in prison, and his father Patrick two years, for helping a criminal gang commit the murder.
Jonathan Dowdall has also said he is prepared to testify in the trial and is being assessed for admission to the Witness Protection Programme.
Earlier, the court ruled that the members of the National Surveillance Unit can give their evidence anonymously and the public have been excluded from the court.
Ms Justice Tara Burns said the public interest lies in the protection of the lives and safety of the undercover officers and that the prevention of crime takes precedence in this case. They can only be referred to by designated initials.
Gerard Hutch had sought to have the officers give their evidence in public and have the trial "in the ordinary way".
Ms Justice Burns said he was entitled to a fair trial and the three judges would ensure his rights were upheld as in any other court in the land.
