Notorious Irish crime boss John Gilligan has been arrested in Spain after an international drug trafficking investigation. The 68 year old was arrested on Friday after a joint operation between Spanish, Irish and UK police in which a total of six people, including Gilligan, were arrested.
During the raid which apparently took place at Gilligan’s own residence, officers from the National Police seized four kilograms of cannabis, 15,000 pills, a large quantity of cash, documents and mobile phones, which police believe are linked to drug trafficking.
A gun was also found, buried in the garden, and the National Police made specific reference in a statement that it will be investigated whether this gun, a Colt Python revolver, is the same weapon used to murder Irish journalist Veronica Guerin in Dublin in the late 90s.
Dramatic footage of the raid was posted to the National Police Twitter account (the video can also be viewed on the Costa Blanca People Facebook page) showing Gilligan lying face down on the kitchen floor while offers place him in handcuffs and lead him away. Officers are also seen searching the garden with a metal detector to find the gun, buried under rubble.
In its statement, the National Police said that the gang, led by ‘a well-known Irish criminal’ sent marijuana and hypnotic drugs to the UK and Ireland by post. Police described those arrested as “part of a violent group of drug and arms traffickers.”
In a series of simultaneous raids, which took place at the same time as Gilligan’s arrest, a further four kilos of marijuana buds and 11,000 more pills were found.
Police confirmed the investigation has been underway since last year when they discovered the gang activity in Torrevieja and the Orihuela Costa. Once it was discovered who was at the helm of the organisation, Spanish officers contacted police forces in Ireland and the UK and thanks to international police cooperation, the rest of the gang members were also identified and placed under surveillance.
John Gilligan was sentenced in 2001 to 28 years in prison – of which he served 17 after appealing the sentence – for importing large quantities of hash to Ireland. Years later he was shot four times when he was at his brother’s house, although he managed to recover from his injuries.
Irish police had linked Gilligan’s organization to the 1996 murder of the well known journalist Guerin. However, he was acquitted of the murder after a 43-day trial at the Special Criminal Court.
He was released from prison in 2013.
Judge Diarmuid O’Donovan said at the time of the trial that there were “grave suspicions” about Gilligan’s involvement in Ms Guerin’s death, but said there was not enough evidence produced to bring about a conviction.