The suspected murderer of Irish journalist, Veronica Guerin, has been arrested in Holland.

Dublin criminal John Traynor (62) fled from Ireland following the murder of Veronica Guerin in 1996.

Veronica Guerin was shot dead in her car by the passenger on a motorbike. The murder took place at traffic lights on the Naas Road in Dublin.

According to officials Traynor was Guerin's main contact in the underworld. He has been on the run from the law for 18 years after failing to return to custody in 1992 when he was serving seven years for fraud. He was due to return to HMP Prison Highpoint, Suffolk, after a home leave. It is understood that he has spent the last 18 years in Spain and Portugal.

Traynor was arrested in Amstelveen, near Amsterdam on August 23rd when he produced fake ID while renting a car. It was the culmination of an operation organized between the Dutch and British Serious and Organized Crime Agency (Soca).

Soca spokesman said “He is now awaiting extradition to the UK to serve the remainder of his sentence…This arrest is as a result of ongoing collaboration with the Dutch authorities that Soca has to apprehend criminals operating in the Netherlands that impact on the UK.”
His extradition hearing is expected to take place in the next couple of days. In the UK he will face finishing a term for fraud, that involved the theft of treasury bonds worth over $5 million.

Although there are no withstanding warrants for his arrest in Ireland he was a known associate of the crime boss "The General", Martin Cahill, and he was also close to John Gilligan.

In 2001 Gilligan was cleared of suspicion in Guerin's murder. He was jailed for importing cannabis resin for 28 years. The longest sentence handed down by the state.

Traynor was involved in robberies, drugs, embezzlement, prostitution and more. His role was that of "fixer" he was the man to go to for information or money. He was second in command in the drug-smuggling gang. The gang was broken up by the police during their investigation into Guerin's death.

He also had connections to the Irish National Liberation Army.