Brian Meehan was jailed for life at the Special Criminal Court yesterday after being convicted of the murder of journalist Veronica Guerin three years ago. He was the second man to be convicted of the murder.
Meehan was also given concurrent sentences of 20 years and 12 years imprisonment for drugs offences and 10 and five years for firearms offences. Mr Justice Frederick Morris, presiding, said the court was satisfied that Meehan was " a high ranking member of the drugs importation and distribution gang".
The judge paid tribute to Ms Guerin and said that "by her death she contributed immeasurably to the successful identification and destruction of the drugs importation and distribution operation". He also praised the gardai for their hard work and the expertise they had shown.
Meehan (34) of no fixed abode, and formerly of Clifton Court, Dublin, and Stanaway Road, Crumlin, Dublin, had pleaded not guilty to the murder of Ms Guerin (36) at Naas Road, Clondalkin, on June 26th, 1996. Meehan also denied 16 other charges alleging that he unlawfully imported cannabis resin into the State on various dates between July 1st, 1994 and October 6th, 1996; that he unlawfully possessed cannabis resin for the purpose of sale or supply on the same dates; and that, on or about October 3rd, 1996, at Unit 1B, Greenmount Industrial Estate, Harolds Cross, Dublin, he had cannabis resin for sale or supply.
He had also pleaded not guilty to having a Sten sub-machine gun, a silenced barrel, two magazines, a 9 mm Agram machine pistol, five Walther semi-automatic pistols, four magazines and 1,057 rounds of assorted ammunition, with intent to endanger life at Oldcourt Road, Tallaght, Dublin, between November 10th, 1995, and October 3rd, 1996.
The court acquitted Meehan of having the guns and ammunition with intent to endanger life but found him guilty of having them for an unlawful purpose.
After the verdict, Ms Guerin's brother Mr Jimmy Guerin said: "I am delighted with the verdict. The gardai have done tremendous work. [Assistant Commissioner] Tony Hickey and the team did marvellous work."
Det Insp Thomas O'Loughlin, who arrested Meehan after his extradition from Holland last September, told the court Meehan was the principal figure in the distribution of cannabis, and worked under the overall control of the gang leader, Mr A. He said that the gang was involved in the "largest organised importation of cannabis in the history of the State".
Gardai estimated that the gang imported 20,700 kilos of cannabis through Cork with an estimated street value of £180 million. Five members of the gang, including Meehan, were involved in distributing the drugs after they were brought in through Cork and transported to Dublin, and the estimated profit for the five was £3.6 million. Meehan's share of that was £720,000.
He said the Criminal Assets Bureau are active in relation to Meehan and had taken steps in relation to a number of properties and a bank account in Austria which contained £600,000. He said Meehan was not a drug addict but did, on occasion, take cocaine. Det Insp O'Loughlin remarked about the guns and ammunition: "In relation to organised criminal gangs this was the biggest arsenal outside of subversive elements which has been found in this country."
He said Meehan had 16 previous convictions dating back to May 1981. His most recent conviction was on September 23rd, 1996, when he was sentenced to seven days imprisonment for obstructing gardai. He also had been jailed on eight occasions between 1985 and 1990 for the unauthorised taking of a vehicle and driving without insurance.
Meehan was jailed for six years in April 1989 for his part in a robbery at the AIB in Grafton Street, Dublin.
After the verdict was handed down, and before sentence was passed, Meehan's counsel, Mr Anthony Sammon SC, said his client wished to assert his innocence despite the court's findings, and did not wish to make a plea of mitigation.