THE full extent of Mr John Gilligan's gambling activities, involving a sum of more than £5 million during a two year period, were read out in court on the third day of a committal hearing at Belmarsh Magistrates' Court, in London, yesterday.
In a statement provided by the Garda and read by Mr Shane Colleary for the prosecution, Mr Gilligan is understood to have wagered, including additional betting tax, £5,393,635.050 with five different bookmakers in Ireland between March 1994 and June 1996. During that period, however, he made winnings of £4,760,987.045 which represented a net loss of £32,648.05.
Mr Gilligan was arrested at Heathrow Airport on October 6th last year as he attempted to board a flight to Amsterdam. He was allegedly carrying £330,000 concealed in his suitcase which he claimed represented the proceeds of professional gambling and was being used to gamble on horses in Holland and to buy property.
During the committal proceedings yesterday, the court was told that Mr Gilligan had substantial dealings with various bookmakers in Ireland.
At the request of British customs and excise officers, the Garda had provided detailed evidence of the proceeds of his gambling activities over a two year period.
Before the statement could be read out in full, Mr Gilligan's counsel, Ms Clare Montgomery, interrupted the prosecution to put on record that in her opinion the evidence was "wholly hearsay".
However, Mr Colleary was allowed to continue with the statement and read a list of five bookmakers with whom Mr Gilligan had gambled.
Between August 7th, 1995, and June 24th, 1996, the statement said, Mr Gilligan wagered £1,313,030 with Boyle's bookmakers while his winnings amounted to £1,234,180.
With Coral bookmakers between March 3rd, 1994, and September 23rd, 1994, he wagered £311,500 with winnings of £292,577.
During the year April 1995 and 1996, Mr Gilligan wagered £721,185 with Ladbrokes bookmakers and his winnings were £784,000.
With the fourth bookmakers listed, Powers Leisure, Mr Gilligan wagered £956,620 and was paid winnings of £880,331 between June 18th, 1994, and April 11th, 1995. With Stanley book makers between May 6th, 1995, and June 22nd, 1996, Mr Gilligan wagered £1,594,370,07 and was paid winnings of £1,594,568. This represented a net loss of £159,237.
The prosecution is arguing that the proceeds of Mr Gilligan's gambling activities have been used in connection with drug trafficking, which along with the £330,000 found in his suitcase at Heathrow Airport "must raise the suspicion that it is money from crime".
At the committal hearing stage, the magistrate must be satisfied there exists a prima facie case to answer before he will put Mr Gilligan forward for trial.
Earlier the court heard evidence from the customs and excise officer in charge of the case, Mr Roger Wilson. He confirmed that two customs and excise investigations into Mr Gilligan's activities, known by the codenames "Operation Holyhead" and "Operation Holyhead 2 " had been instigated since December 1994.
Operation Holyhead, he said, had ceased when a customs and excise case against Mr Gilligan had collapsed at Holyhead Magistrates Court in July 1995.
Answering questions on the details of Mr Gilligan's arrest at Heathrow Airport, Mr Wilson denied that he had refused Mr Gilligan access to a solicitor saying that as a result of information provided by the Garda Siochana he had made a decision to refuse access to "a particular solicitor . . . just this one".
Mr Gilligan's solicitor at that time was Mr Michael Hanahoe, with an address at Parliament Street, Dublin, and whose offices had been searched by the Garda Siochana three days before Mr Gilligan's arrest.
"Documents had been seized from Mr Hanahoe's office which I was told may prejudice the investigation into Mr Gilligan," Mr Wilson continued. "I was not sure of the nature of the prejudice, I had not seen the documents. The documents removed were in connection with Mr Gilligan."
The court was adjourned until Monday.