DRUG KING CLEARED ON NEWSGIRL DEATH

DRUG king John Gilligan was yesterday cleared of ordering the murder of a
reporter who was about to expose his life of crime.

But the 48-year-old was jailed for 28 years yesterday for drug offences - a
record narcotics sentence in Ireland, where he plied his evil trade.

Judge Diarmuid O'Donovan said he had "grave suspicions" that Gilligan had
been involved in the cold-blooded murder of journalist Veronica Guerin in
1996, but that his guilt had not been proved beyond doubt.

Key prosecution witness Russell Warren, a former criminal associate of
Gilligan, was dismissed as a "self-serving liar" by the court.

Miss Guerin was 37 when she died in a hail of bullets as she sat in her car
at traffic lights in Dublin.

Jimmy Guerin, the Sunday Independent reporter's brother, said: "I was
disappointed that he was acquitted on the charge of murder, but I am
pleased with the sentence he was given in respect of the drugs."

Gilligan's drug empire is believed to have earned him up to pounds 16million.

After the verdict at Dublin's Special Criminal Court, his solicitor said he
would appeal.

Miss Guerin's killers, Paul Ward and Brian Meehan, are both serving life
sentences for her murder.