A protected witness, John Dunne, told the Special Criminal Court yesterday that "pure greed" motivated him to work for Mr John Gilligan, the man accused of murdering journalist Veronica Guerin.
Dunne said he was paid £1,000 by Mr Gilligan for arranging the transport of boxes from Holland to Ireland. He also told the court that the 10 counts of illegally importing cannabis resin to which he pleaded guilty in 1999 referred to these consignments.
Dunne (44) is serving a three-year jail sentence and is in the Witness Protection Programme.
The former operations manager of Seabridge, an international freight company based in Cork, identified Mr Gilligan in court as the man who had arranged for the shipments to arrive from Holland.
Cross-examined by Mr Gilligan's counsel, Mr Michael O'Higgins SC, Dunne admitted it was "pure greed" that made him agree to arrange the importation of contraband.
Dunne told Mr O'Higgins he believed he made about £40,000 from his illegal activities, but Mr O'Higgins pointed out there were 96 consignments in all between 1994 and 1996 and that Dunne said he was paid on average £1,000 for each consignment. Dunne said there was £30,000 in his bank account when he was arrested by the gardai in 1996.
He said he had personally delivered the boxes which arrived from Holland to the Ambassador Hotel in Co Kildare from early 1994 until July 1995. After that date they were delivered by a driver who worked for Seabridge and who had no idea what was in the shipments, he added.
Dunne said he had been told by the Witness Protection Programme that he would only get what he was entitled to.
He had not asked about getting a lump sum, he added. He said he understood he and his family would be relocated.
It was the 12th day of the trial of Mr Gilligan (48), who has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Sunday Independent crime reporter Veronica Guerin at Naas Road, Clondalkin, Dublin, on June 26th, 1996.
Mr Gilligan also denies 15 other counts alleging the importation of cannabis and firearms and ammunition offences.
The trial continues today.