The Garda brought in its first witness protection programme after witnesses were threatened in the case of a Dublin man accused of having cannabis worth more than £2 million, the Special Criminal Court heard yesterday. The court was also told that the defendant, Mr Patrick Eugene Holland, had threatened two witnesses that they would be "popped" unless they ran away and that the house of one of the witnesses was razed in an arson attack the day after Mr Holland was arrested in Dun Laoghaire.
Mr Holland admitted that he had planted "bugs" in his shoes, linked to a tape-recorder outside Lucan Garda station, because he wanted his interviews with gardai to be recorded.
The court refused bail to Mr Holland (58), a native of Dublin with an address at Brittas Bay, Co Wicklow, who is charged with having cannabis with intent to supply within the State between October 1st, 1995, and October 6th, 1996. He was remanded in custody for trial on October 28th.
Det-Sgt Padraig Kennedy said Mr Holland was charged with having 200 kilos of the drug with an estimated street value of £2 million. The case against him consisted of witness statements, documentary evidence and unsigned statements made by him while in custody at Lucan Garda station.
He said Mr Holland had no fixed abode and had lived outside the jurisdiction in England for six months before his arrest. On two occasions his solicitor had made appointments with gardai in Lucan for Mr Holland to be interviewed in relation to another investigation.
On April 9th he was arrested at 6.25 a.m. at Dun Laoghaire, where he was travelling in an English-registered car with a foreign woman and her six-year-old son. They had arrived from Holyhead and the woman had return tickets from Dun Laoghaire for the following day.
During an interview at Lucan Garda station, Mr Holland said he had no ties in this country, had sold his house and was separated from his wife. He said he was going to the United States to "start again" because he was not known there and would "blend in".
Mr Holland had used an address at Derry Park, Crumlin, Dublin, for two years to receive social welfare payments, but had never lived there. He admitted that he had "cheated the labour".
When he was interviewed by gardai in July 1996 about his whereabouts on June 26th, 1996, he said he had been living at a house in Finglas, but the owner of the house said he did not know Mr Holland.
Det-Sgt Kennedy said that Mr Holland would abscond if granted bail.
Det-Insp Thomas O'Loughlin, of Lucan Garda station, said he believed Mr Holland would interfere with and harm witnesses if given bail. He said that on February 20th this year Mr Holland met two important witnesses in the case at Islington tube station in London and advised them to run away and not give evidence or they would be "popped". He said he believed this was a euphemism for being shot.
The witnesses returned to Ireland. One of them received a telephone call on April 10th, the day after Mr Holland's arrest. The call was from a close associate of Mr Holland, who threatened to kill the witness and other witnesses. Gardai monitored the call and recorded it. Det-Insp O'Loughlin said he had no doubt the threats could be carried out. He said that, as a result of the threats, gardai set up a witness protection programme for the first time and the witnesses were taken into police care. Twenty-four hours later there was an arson attack and the house of one of the witnesses was burned down.
Cross-examined by Mr Niall Durnin, counsel for Mr Holland, the inspector named the witnesses as Mr Charles Boden and Ms Juliette Baker.
Det-Garda Sean O'Brien said he had received confidential information from an informant that Mr Holland intended to interfere with other witnesses if given bail.
Mr Holland said in evidence that he had been living near Tower Bridge in London. He said he had met the witnesses at Islington tube station, but had not threatened them. He said they had told him they were leaving and he had wished them the best.
He told Mr Durnin that he had been in contact with "an individual of the press" and had been told he had 48 hours to give himself up to gardai. He said he had intended to go to a Garda station after he returned to Ireland. He wanted an early trial.
Cross-examined by Mr Peter Charleton SC, Mr Holland said that he had bought a house in Co Wicklow after his release from Portlaoise Prison and had started a business with money which had been left to him.
He said he had met Charles Boden in London because the newspapers had said he (Mr Holland) had been involved in some crime and he wanted to find out what Mr Boden had heard. He said he knew nothing about the burning down of Mr Boden's house and he had not asked anyone to intimidate witnesses.
Mr Holland agreed that he knew Brian Meehan, but denied that he had caused him to make a "chilling phone call" to a witness telling him that he would be "eliminated".
Mr Justice Barr, presiding, said that the court accepted the evidence of gardai and refused bail.