Irish crime boss John Gilligan faces more than 11 years in prison over an alleged drug laboratory and a modified revolver found at his Costa Blanca home.
Spanish prosecutors are seeking 11 years and three months behind bars and a €120,000 fine for the 74-year-old Dubliner, according to a widely-reported indictment.
Gilligan faces charges of drug trafficking, belonging to a criminal gang and illegal weapons possession. No trial date has been set.
The prosecution is requesting eight years for the drugs charge, nine months for alleged gang membership and two-and-a-half years for the firearms offence.
Gilligan was arrested on December 18, 2024, when armed officers raided his home near Torrevieja. He spent more than eight months in custody before being released on €10,000 bail in August 2025.
He is due to stand trial alongside two brothers from North Macedonia, who were among eight other people arrested during the police operation.
Prosecutors allege the defendants used Gilligan’s property to manufacture, store and distribute drugs, sharing the proceeds between them.
They claim Gilligan supervised the operation because the property belonged to him and was his usual residence, while the other defendants brought materials needed to prepare and distribute the substances.
Tests identified ketamine, cocaine and cannabis worth almost €5,000 at the property.
According to the indictment, Gilligan was in bed when officers entered at 5.48am. Police footage subsequently released showed officers forcing their way inside and discovering a revolver wrapped in plastic in a hiding place in an exterior wall.
A forensic examination identified the weapon as a Mondial model 1938 revolver in 6mm Flobert calibre, without a visible serial number.
Prosecutors say its barrel had been modified to fire conventional cartridges containing bullets, making it a prohibited firearm. They allege Gilligan held neither the required firearms licence nor ownership documentation.
Officers also seized a BMW X5 believed to belong to his British former partner, Sharon Oliver.
The case is separate from Gilligan’s 2020 arrest, when another gun was found buried in his garden.
That weapon was initially investigated for a possible connection to the 1996 murder of Irish journalist Veronica Guerin. Gilligan was acquitted of her murder, and the gun used to kill her has never been recovered.
