THE Kinahan cartel fixer who provided phones for the gang who whacked Real IRA man Michael Barr is also suspected of helping the killers of Eddie Hutch.

Low-level criminal Martin Aylmer, 31, of Marino, Dublin, was recruited by the lethal mob over an unpaid drugs debt at the start of 2016.

And cops are probing whether they used his services just two days after the killing of yob David Byrne when a hit team targeted Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch’s brother Eddie, 58, on February 8, 2016.

On that occasion, Aylmer is suspected of allowing the killers to store weapons at a lock-up in the Dorset Street area of the capital’s north inner city.

And investigators suspect the same garage was also used when assassin Eamon Cumberton and his kill team blasted Barr, 35, at Dublin’s Sunset House pub on April 25, 2016.

The senior dissident republican was targeted after Daniel Kinahan’s outfit wrongly identified him as one of the gunmen in the Regency Hotel shooting of Byrne, 34.

And Aylmer’s decision to join Ireland’s most dangerous criminal gang came back to haunt him as he was jailed for two years and nine months yesterday at the Special Criminal Court for facilitating a criminal organisation.

A source said: “Aylmer was one of the Kinahan cartel’s main logistical men and had been working for them for months before he was finally caught.

“There is a strong suspicion that he helped the killers of Eddie Hutch in a similar fashion and there’s always a chance he could face further charges because the investigation is ongoing.

“He played a central role in the murder by providing essential support to the killers and was someone who could be manipulated by the cartel.

“He got involved with the gang because he owed some money and before the murder of Barr he was someone who was trusted.”

Cops identified Aylmer’s links to Cumberton after finding a dumped phone following the hit on Barr.

Detectives from the Bridewell Garda Station established the phone had been bought in the Ilac Centre, then seized CCTV from the store and identified the gangland fixer buying the device.

Aylmer, who had never come to Garda attention until then, was also linked to the cartel’s secret lock-up in the Dorset Street area.

Although the guns used to kill Barr were recovered on the night of his murder, officers later recovered a stash of weapons from the storage site.

During a previous court hearing, Aylmer admitted to participating in or contributing to activity intending to facilitate the commission by a criminal organisation or any of its members of a serious offence, namely Barr’s murder.

He was also charged with participating in or contributing to activity being reckless as to whether said participation or contribution could facilitate the commission of the murder of Barr.

It’s the first time someone has been convicted of the offence.

Although Cumberton, 34, was convicted in January of Barr’s murder after his DNA was recovered from the getaway car, investigators are still hunting two other men over the feud killing.

The massive probe into the Kinahan-Hutch feud killing was run by Det Inspector John Bates from the Bridewell, under the command of Superintendent Dan Flavin, former Det Supt Eunan Dolan and Assistant Commissioner Pat Leahy.

We can reveal gardai followed 520 separate lines of inquiry, took 500 statements and examined hundreds of hours of CCTV footage.

Detectives also recovered two Makarov handguns, two Glocks and were involved in 15 searches during the probe.

Asst Commr Leahy told the Irish Sun: “This investigation was fantastic and a huge amount of work went into it. This case shows what happens when young men get involved in this feud.

“This man is right in the middle of the feud and now he has a serious conviction that will be with him for the rest of his life.

“He will be seen as a liability to one side and an arch enemy to the other side. I also welcome the fact legislation has been used in this case and it won’t be the last time it will be used as our investigations continue.”

Chief Supt Sean Ward, from the Garda’s North Central Division, also told how the Barr probe was ongoing.

He added: “This is a significant case in conviction for the community in Dublin’s north-east inner city which has suffered considerably over the last number of years as a result of this criminal activity.

“It also demonstrates individuals who participate in activities that facilitate the commission of a serious crime by a criminal organisation will be fully investigated.

“Significant criminal organisations always look for logistical support and I would like to acknowledge the work of the investigation team who were supported by their uniformed colleagues and national units.”

Mr Justice Tony Hunt sentenced Aylmer to three years and nine months, with one year suspended.

The judge said that while the provision of any assistance to a criminal organisation is a grave matter, Aylmer didn’t approach it in a covert or disguised manner.

Judge Hunt added: “His unsophisticated approach left him open to identification and demonstrated an absence of calculation or guile.”