Hutch-Kinahan feud: Man jailed over murder plot

A Dublin man has been jailed for seven-and-a-half years for helping a criminal organisation try to kill a man in the ongoing Hutch-Kinahan feud.

Mark Capper, 31, of Cappagh Green, Finglas, admitted participating in activities designed to facilitate the murder of Patrick Hutch in 2018.

Capper was hired by the Kinahan Organised Crime Group.

The Special Criminal Court found the Kinahan gang is involved in drugs, firearms and execution-style murders.

The group was named publicly in an Irish court for the first time on Thursday, RTE reports.

Capper was "a foot soldier" for the group involved in the murder attempt of Patrick Hutch, the older brother of the leader of the rival Hutch-organised crime gang.

Det Supt David Gallagher told the court the Kinahan gang had a hierarchical structure under which sub cells operate.

The cell assigned to murder Patrick Hutch involved up to 10 people, the court heard.

Capper admitted that he knew about the attempt to murder Patrick Hutch and that he participated in activities to facilitate the commission of the crime by a criminal organisation between 1 February and 10 March 2018.

The original plan had been to shoot Patrick Hutch on 28 February 2018, but the attempted murder was postponed until 10 March due to a storm.

Plot was foiled

Capper, who has 65 previous convictions and drug and addiction problems, pulled out three days before the murder was to happen.

The court heard he was diagnosed with ADHD as a child and had an IQ of 63 when he was 13 years old and was sent to a special school.

The plot was foiled when gardaí intervened on that day and seized guns, ammunition, cars and vans and arrested the "hit team."

Mr Justice Tony Hunt said on Thursday it was no thanks to Capper the murder did not take place and sentenced him to eight years and three months with the final nine months suspended.