Gardai pledge to stay on top of drugs racket
The sentence imposed today on John Gilligan, which staggered police and other courtroom observers, was the longest in the Irish history for drugs offences.
Previously, truly lengthy jail terms have been reserved for murder or terrorist-linked crime.
One senior Garda said this evening: "In the history of organised crime in Ireland, the day Veronica Guerin died is probably the most significant date in the last 30 years.
"It is so much more difficult today for a gang leader like John Gilligan to start up a criminal empire of the sort he spearheaded."
On the very day of the shooting, now nearly five years ago, a special garda team was set up to get to the bottom of the crime. It was based initially in the Dublin suburb of Lucan, and the team’s activities, though peaking with the trial that ended today, go on.
At the same time, the fear persisted tonight that if the resolve of the Garda Siochana was to be relaxed in any way because of the disappointment of the Special Criminal Court verdict on the murder charge, another Gilligan-like figure could emerge.
The Garda officer pledged: "We intend to stay right on top of this situation - that is essential. As long as there is a demand for drugs there will be people willing to organise and supply them".
Brendan Howlin, the Labour Party’s justice spokesman, said: "Ireland will be a safer and better place with Gilligan behind bars.
"It will be welcomed by all those who want to see this country freed from the scourge of illegal drugs, which has destroyed so many young lives.
"All the evidence heard by the Special Criminal Court pointed to the fact that Mr Gilligan was a major criminal and gang leader, deeply involved in the drugs trade and other criminal activities."
