Gilligan gun examined to determine if it was used in Guerin murder 

John Gilligan and his son have been arrested in Spain END 8/6/2016 Gilligan Case. John Gilligan on his way into the Supreme Court this morning for a hearing to an application by him and his family to try to stop the Criminal Assets Bureau selling three properties. CAB seized an eight-bedroom house at Jessbrook, Co Kildare and two houses in west Dublin 20 years ago. Photo: Sam Boal/RollingNews.ie

Spanish police have confirmed that a gun seized in the arrest of convicted drug dealer John Gilligan and others in Alicante on Friday is being examined to see if it is the same weapon used in the murder of Irish journalist Veronica Guerin in 1996.

Although John Gilligan was cleared in 2001 of the murder that shocked the nation, he was subsequently jailed for 28 years in what was then the  longest sentence ever handed down for drug offences. 

Convicted of importing cannabis resin at the special criminal court in 2001, the 68-year-old Dublin native, once among the most feared criminals in the nation, was released in 2013 after a successful appeal to reduce his sentence.

Mr Gilligan, who has always denied being involved in Ms Guerin's murder, left Ireland in 2014 after attempts were made on his life, settling in Spain.

Spanish police uncovered the revolver after the search of a premises in Alicante, Spain.

He was among those arrested in Alicante on Friday, as Spanish police said its agents had "dismantled a group of drug traffickers" in the region, in a joint operation with gardaí and the UK's national crime agency. 

The Spanish police said the raid intercepted four postal items loaded with  4kg of marijuana and 15,000 pills of so-called "hypnotic drugs". 

The Spanish force said those arrested were led by "a well-known Irish criminal" and were "part of a violent group of drug and arms traffickers and specialised in sending illegal merchandise from Spain to the UK and Ireland through parcels".

They said: "In addition to the package seized, the agents have found in the four registered homes another four kilos more of marijuana buds, already packed, and 11,000 more pills.

The Colt Python revolver was found buried in a garden, the Spanish police said, adding that it was the model of gun that matched the one used to kill Ms Guerin.

Drugs, a gun, money and tablets were among some of the items seized in the raid.

Investigations will establish whether it was the same one used to kill her, they said.

The operation that culminated in the arrests on Friday was launched last year when it was discovered that an organisation led by a known Irish criminal had settled in the province of Alicante, specifically in Torrevieja and Orihuela Costa, according to Spanish police.

"This person had been investigated in the past for various crimes and had even served 17 years in prison for importing large quantities of hashish. Alerted by this situation, the agents contacted other police forces and, thanks to international police cooperation, the rest of the gang members were identified," they said.

Spanish authorities claimed that thanks to intelligence work carried out in Spain in collaboration with Irish agents, an arms delivery to Ireland by members of the criminal organisation was foiled.

The operation finally allowed the seizure of three 9mm parabellum caliber pistols, loaded and ready for use, the Spanish police said.

Drugs seized in the raid.

They said: "The investigation has culminated in the total dismantling of the criminal organisation. The six investigated people have been arrested, including the leader of the group and four house searches have been carried out, where another four kilos more of packaged marijuana buds, 11,000 pills, two vehicles, 10 mobile telephone devices, various documentation have been seized accounting and postal, useful for vacuum packaging and manipulation of the narcotic substance among other effects."

Ms Guerin's death prompted an outpouring of grief that soon turned to outrage in Ireland among the public, which led to an overhauling and expansion of laws aimed at tackling organised crime. 

The crusading journalist was shot as she waited at a traffic light at Newlands Cross in Dublin in June 1996. She was just 36 at the time of her murder.

A year before her murder, John Gilligan assaulted Ms Guerin after she confronted him about his lifestyle.