Prosecutors seek 11-year sentence for John Gilligan if convicted of Spanish charges

Convicted criminal John Gilligan has been warned he faces more than 11 years in prison over drugs and a gun found at his Costa Blanca home in Spain.The veteran Irish criminal spent more than eight months behind bars following his December 2024 arrest before paying €10,000 bail to leave jail in August last year.Public prosecutors confirmed overnight they were pushing for a custodial sentence totalling 11 years and three months after Gilligan was charged with three crimes.In an indictment submitted to a court in Elche near Torrevieja, where the 74-year-old from Dublin faces trial, prosecutors revealed they were demanding an eight-year jail term for the drugs trafficking charge, nine months for belonging to a criminal gang and two years and six months for illegal weapons possession.READ MOREThe drugs found in the property, which were subsequently sent off for analysis, were also revealed: ketamine, cocaine and marijuana worth nearly €5,000.Gilligan is set to be put in the dock along with two brothers from North Macedonia who were among the other eight people arrested by police in high-profile raids that led to detectives saying at the time they had held a “man belonging to the Irish mafia”.Spanish police went public in January last year with the first images of the “drug lab” that led to Gilligan’s December 18th, 2024, arrest and subsequent remand in prison after appearing before a judge.They released footage showing the moment heavily armed officers used battering rams to smash into the Costa Blanca property where they held the Irish man – as well as the moment they found the revolver wrapped in plastic inside a hideaway on an outside wall.Public prosecutors say in their indictment, which omits some personal details because of data protection laws: “The defendants, for an unspecified period of time, but in any event prior to December 18th, 2024, conspired to manufacture narcotic substances at the property situated at [redacted] with the aim of obtaining successive and significant quantities of narcotic substances for subsequent sale.[ Law Society seeks to meet O’Callaghan ‘in person’ to solve legal aid payments impasseOpens in new window ]“This laboratory was supervised by the defendant, as the property was his own and served as his usual place of residence.“It was frequented by the other defendants, who were responsible for bringing the necessary materials to the premises for the manufacture and facilitation of the handling and distribution of the narcotic substance.”The property was also used for “storing the substances, with the profits derived from the sale of the substance subsequently being shared amongst them all”, the documents state.“Prior to the aforementioned date, acting jointly and in concert, and with the intention of making a financial profit, the defendants possessed at their various addresses illicit substances, in particular, tusi, ketamine, cocaine and cannabis, for their subsequent distribution and sale to third parties, as well as products, equipment and instruments used by them for the manufacture of those substances and their distribution.”Gilligan was in bed when his home was raided at 5.48am, the documents show. Of the weapon found, public prosecutors said: “A firearm, a six-calibre pistol, model 1938, was also seized at the property.“This has been the subject of an expert report, which determined it to be a Mondial revolver, model 1938, in 6mm Flobert calibre, with no visible serial number.“It is in a normal state of repair and functions correctly. It was originally a 7.4 regulated firearm, but as the barrel had been modified and it is capable of firing conventional cartridges containing bullets, it is now classified as a prohibited firearm.“A firearms licence and a certificate of ownership are required for its possession and use, neither of which the defendant possessed.”[ Convicted gang rapists say trial was prejudiced by allowing woman to give evidence behind screenOpens in new window ]A BMW X5 believed to belong to Gilligan’s British ex-partner Sharon Oliver was also seized.As well as the prison sentence, prosecutors want Gilligan fined €120,000 if convicted as charged. No trial date has yet been scheduled.The gun found in the pensioner’s back garden during his 2020 arrest was initially linked to Irish journalist Veronica Guerin’s 1996 murder, of which he was acquitted.The gun used to shoot her by one of two men on a motorbike was never found.