COURT TO ORDER SEIZURE OF GILLIGAN EQUESTRIAN CENTRE

The Special Criminal Court is expected to order the seizure of John
Gilligan's equestrian centre at Enfield, Co Kildare, when it resumes its
sitting next month. Although Jessbrook should be worth at least the amount
Gilligan invested in it - UKP 2.5 million - its associations with him and
the murder of Veronica Guerin may make it unattractive to some buyers.

The seizure of Gilligan's assets will take place under the Drugs
Trafficking Act which allows for the seizure of assets of a person
convicted of a trafficking offence.

Simultaneously, the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) is endeavouring to
discover the whereabouts of UKP 4 million or UKP 5 million which Gilligan
may have deposited in an offshore bank. CAB is understood to be examining
the activities of a bank in Antigua as it is known a criminal associate of
Gilligan's in England used it to launder money from British drug traffickers.

The bank has been the subject of a US Senate investigation because of
suspected money laundering activities. It was involved in depositing more
than US$30 million in US banks.

Gilligan may also have visited Antigua. He visited the neighbouring island
of St Lucia twice on holiday in 1995 and 1996.

Records found at the warehouse in Greenmount, Dublin, which Gilligan's gang
used as a distribution centre for their drugs business showed they smuggled
and sold 20,000 kg (20 metric tonnes) of cannabis. It was bought at an
estimated UKP 800 a kg and sold for between UKP 2,000 and UKP 2,250.
Allowing for costs, the gang probably made a profit of UKP 700 to UKP 1,000
per kg.

The gang also had a profitable sideline in supplying cocaine. Patrick
Holland, an associate of Gilligan, made a large amount of money from
selling cocaine to people associated with the media and entertainment
business. CAB seized a house owned by Holland at Brittas Bay.

The gang made so much money in a two-year period that they had difficulty
handling the amounts of cash. A source close to the investigation said a
"conservative" estimate would put the profits from the drug trafficking at
UKP 14.9 million.

Gilligan bought the 70 acres of land at Mucklon, outside Enfield, for UKP
170,000 and spent more than UKP 2.5 million developing the Jessbrook
Equestrian Centre into the largest in the State. The Gilligans and their
two children moved from Ballyfermot to Jessbrook in 1995.

Gilligan's wife, Geraldine, who ran the centre while her husband was
engaged in the drug trade, has challenged a previous attempt by the CAB to
seize the property. This case is before the Supreme Court and is separate
from the present CAB case.