An international arrest warrant has been issued for John Gilligan’s son ahead of his trial relating to drugs and weapons charges.
Spanish court officials confirmed Darren Gilligan is now officially a wanted man after his no-show at a courthouse last October where he and his father were among nine people due to take the stand.
On Tuesday, it emerged John Gillian (71), who was prosecuted over the murder of crime reporter Veronica Guerin, has been told his day in court has been pushed back once again because of a second suspension.
He was due to appear at a court in the Costa Blanca resort of Torrevieja on Monday for the start of a three-day trial.
John Gilligan has been warned he faces more than eight years in jail if convicted, and the possibility that he may try to strike a plea deal on the first day of the trial had not been ruled out.
However, a spokesperson for the judges due to head the Spanish hearing said: “Orihuela Criminal Court Number Two, with its HQ in Torrevieja, has provisionally suspended the trial due to start there next Monday, due to conflicting diary commitments of the lawyers involved.
“The intention is that in the next few weeks a new trial date is agreed.”
The court officials confirmed one suspect who failed to show up at the initial trial date last October is now on the run, adding: “The court has issued a national and International Arrest Warrant for this person.”
It was not immediately clear when Darren Gilligan's arrest order had been signed and issued.
Sources said of the trial suspension: “There was some initial talk about rescheduling it for the start of May, but that date has also proved difficult and the various lawyers involved are now going to try to get together in the near future to come up with a new date they can all do.
“At the moment we just don’t know whether it’s going to be before the summer or after the summer.
“The important thing is that the new date that is agreed upon is abided by so this doesn’t turn into a farce.”
Friends said Darren Gilligan was back in Ireland and short of money after he failed to appear in court last year.
Officials are understood to have made attempts to track him down before declaring him in contempt of court and paving the way for his arrest warrant.
Charges
John Gilligan was charged with four crimes following his arrest in October 2020 at his former home in Torrevieja.
State prosecutors demanded an 18-month prison sentence for unlawful possession of weapons after a gun was found hidden in the back garden of his property which Spanish police linked to Veronica Guerin’s murder.
Detectives said the gun was the “same make and model” as the one used to kill Ms Guerin in Dublin in June 1996.
However, Spanish state prosecutors went on to describe the weapon as a Colt Defender, having previously described it as a Colt Python .357 Magnum immediately after Gilligan's arrest.
In a pre-trial indictment, prosecutors said they wanted John Gilligan jailed for another two years if convicted of smuggling cannabis into Ireland, four years for illegally exporting powerful sleeping pills and 10 months for membership of a criminal gang.
His conviction on all four charges could result in a prison sentence of eight years and four months.
The other eight suspects, in addition to Darren Gilligan, include John Gilligan’s British girlfriend Sharon Oliver and ‘Fat’ Tony Armstrong.
The pre-trial indictment submitted to the court accused Gilligan of masterminding a plot to smuggle drug deliveries from Spain to Ireland inside consignments of toys and flip-flops.
Prosecutors said the drugs included cannabis and thousands of prescription-only sleeping pills.
John Gilligan, who was released from prison in Ireland in October 2013 after serving 17 years of a 20-year sentence for trafficking cannabis resin, was the only one of the nine accused who was charged over the discovery of the weapon.
“The pistol, with its case and ammunition was buried in the garden and at John Gilligan’s disposal,” prosecutors said in the indictment.
“It has been catalogued as a short firearm equipped for use.”
Adding he had no licence for the firearm, the indictment added: “The cartridges were in good condition, hadn’t been modified and were apt for use with the pistol that was seized.”
Over 27,000 sleeping pills were also seized.
Investigation
Police sources previously said the raid on John Gilligan’s villa took place as he was preparing a delivery of cannabis and sleeping pills to Ireland.
Prior to confirmation that the weapon found was not the one used in Ms Guerin's murder, Spain's National Police said: “The revolver that has been found is the same mark and model as the one used in the assassination of an Irish journalist in Dublin in 1996.”
The force added at that point it was working with An Garda Síochána to determine whether the gun was used to murder Ms Guerin.
John Gilligan was tried for Ms Guerin’s murder after a former soldier who prepared the gun used to kill the journalist agreed to turn witness for the State and was given immunity from prosecution.
He was acquitted of murder at the Special Criminal Court, but Judge Diarmuid O’Donovan said he had “grave suspicions” Gilligan was involved in Ms Guerin's killing.
Gilligan's former friend, Brian ‘Tosser’ Meehan, was convicted of Ms Guerin’s murder.
Although Gilligan was acquitted of ordering the murder in 2001, he was convicted of importing two tons of cannabis resin and was sentenced to 28 years in prison which was reduced on appeal.
