The Dublin man whom gardai believe murdered journalist Veronica Guerin was told yesterday he could not appeal his 20-year prison sentence for a drugs offence.
A lawyer for Patrick Eugene Holland (58) had asked the Special Criminal Court for leniency because of the age of his client and the fact that he was convicted of a single offence.
But Mr Justice Johnson, presiding, told him: "The court is satisfied that the minimum sentence which the court considers appropriate for this offence is 20 years' imprisonment to date from the date of the accused's arrest on April 9th."
"Apart from the age of the accused and the manner in which the trial was conducted there are no mitigating factors in this case," he said.
"This is an extremely serious offence which is compounded by the fact that it took place within 13 months of the accused being granted temporary release from jail."
The three judges were told Holland had received an average of 35 kilos of cannabis a week for a period of several months from a major drugs wholesale operation run from a lock-up garage in Harold's Cross in Dublin.
Det Sgt Padraig Kennedy said gardai believe that 20,000 kilos of cannabis with an estimated street value of £20 million was imported and distributed from the lock-up.
Holland, a native of Dublin, with an address at Brittas Bay, Co Wicklow, was convicted on Thursday of possessing cannabis for the purposes of sale or supply within the State on a date unknown between October 1st, 1995, and October 6th, 1996.
The court was told that as a result of the investigation into Ms Guerin's murder detectives found 47 kilos of cannabis at the warehouse in Harold's Cross, with an estimated street value of £470,000, and believed the warehouse was used for the distribution of huge amounts of the drug.
State witness Charles Bowden, who gave evidence against Holland, was a member of the drugs gang, Det Sgt Padraig Kennedy had earlier told the court.
He said that Bowden would have been No 6 in the gang and added: "The accused would be, within the hierarchical structure of the gang, No 4 and would have been a very loyal and close confidant of the gang leader."
Holland would sell the cannabis to his own customers, but he was unable to say how much money he had made.
Defence counsel, Mr Brendan Grogan SC, submitted that the court should regard the offence as being possession of cannabis on a single occasion.
He also said the court should take into account Holland's age.
Mr Grogan said there had been "massive publicity" about the case and he asked the court to be mindful of the fact that his client had been convicted of a single offence.