Charles Bowden, a protected witness, told the Special Criminal Court yesterday that he cleaned and loaded the Magnum revolver used in the murder of journalist Veronica Guerin the day before the killing.
Bowden (36), who is serving a six-year sentence for drugs and firearms offences and who is in the Witness Protection Programme, said he was instructed to load the gun on June 25th, 1996, by Brian Meehan, who is serving life for the Guerin murder.
Bowden told Mr Eamonn Leahy SC, prosecuting, that he was instructed to load the revolver and leave it in a lockup at Greenmount Industrial Estate in Harold's Cross, Dublin, which was used by the drugs gang of which he was a member.
Bowden said he loaded the gun with six bullets and left six spare bullets with the gun on a table in the lock-up. He said the gun had been taken from a grave at a Jewish cemetery at Oldcourt Road in Tallaght where he stored weapons and ammunition which arrived with consignments of cannabis resin from Holland.
Bowden said a man, who cannot be named by order of the court, brought the gun from the grave to the lock-up.
Bowden told Mr Justice O'Donovan, presiding, that he had qualified as a sniper during his six years in the Army.
He identified murder accused Mr John Gilligan in court as the man he met and to whom he spoke by phone about the drugs and weapons consignments. Bowden named the five men involved in the distribution of the shipments as himself, Brian Meehan, Paul Ward, and two other men who cannot be named by order of the court.
It was the 18th day of the trial of Mr John Gilligan (48), who has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Sunday Independent crime reporter Veronica Guerin (37) 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 resumes next Tuesday.