Darren Gilligan, son of convicted drug dealer John Gilligan, appeared before the High Court in Dublin as a result of an extradition request from the Spanish authorities. The 47-year-old’s surrender is sought as a result of an offence of breaching Public Order and Safety. He was detained on foot of an SIS Alert issued by the Spanish Authorities, which informs the Gardai that a European Arrest Warrant seeking his surrender has been made in respect of Mr Gilligan. The Schengen Information System (SIS) alert is an information exchange system used by various authorities in Europe. The court heard that in Mr Gilligan’s case the EAW has not yet arrived from Spain.
During the hearing, the Detective Garda Adrian Murray told the court that he arrested and cautioned Mr Gilligan at an address in West Dublin on Wednesday morning. Mr Justice Barr remanded Mr Gilligan in custody, having been satisfied that the person before the court is the person whose surrender is being sought in the SIS. Gilligan will return to court later this month.
Before Gilligan’s arrest, he had purchased tickets to fly to Spain in the coming days, where he is due to appear before a Spanish Court on another matter. His lawyer, Mark Lynam, told the court that his client is willing to consent to his surrender to the Spanish authorities but cannot do so until the EAW has been provided to the Irish authorities. Mr Lynam said Mr Gilligan was not seeking to be granted bail at this point of the proceedings.
It is reported that the Spanish authorities believe Gilligan is linked to the Kinahan cartel. However, no charges have been brought against Gilligan in relation to this. In January 2021, Gilligan was acquitted of 70 charges of VAT fraud, and his co-defendant, Keith Brady, was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in jail. During that trial, the court heard evidence that Gilligan had been the target of over 50 death threats prior to his arrest for the fraud offence.
