The State began proceedings at the Special Criminal Court yesterday to confiscate more than £14 million from convicted drugs dealer John Gilligan.
The State is seeking to confiscate £14.2 million which it alleges were Gilligan's profits from importing 20,000 kilos of cannabis resin into the country over a two-year period.
The court has heard the State wants the High Court to appoint a receiver to realise Gilligan's assets, which allegedly include an equestrian centre at Jessbrook, two houses in Lucan, a house at Blanchardstown, six vehicles, 16 bank accounts and over £5 million he staked in bets.
Gilligan is serving a 28-year prison sentence imposed by the Special Criminal Court on March 15th last for importing cannabis resin.
Yesterday, State counsel Mr Eamonn Leahy SC said the prosecution was relying on the findings of the court in its judgment and sentence which established that Gilligan was a man who had benefited from the proceeds of drugs trafficking to an amount in the region of £14 million.
The court heard preliminary legal submissions from Gilligan's counsel, Mr Michael O'Higgins SC. The court rejected a submission from Mr O'Higgins that a certificate was needed from the DPP to cover the proceedings because they related to non-scheduled offences, and that a certificate was needed from British authorities because of the provisions of the Extradition Act.
Mr O'Higgins also submitted that the court had displayed bias in the legal sense towards Gilligan because of rulings made during the trial.
Mr Justice Diarmuid O'Donovan said the court would consider the submissions.