A protected witness, Charles Bowden, told the Special Criminal Court yesterday that he believed journalist Veronica Guerin was going to be "shot or shot at" when he cleaned and loaded a Magnum .357 revolver the day before her murder in June 1996.
Bowden told Mr Michael O'Higgins SC, counsel for murder accused John Gilligan, that he believed the gun was going to be used by a "professional hitman" and that Ms Guerin was going to be targeted.
"I thought myself that there would be an attempt to warn her off or an attempt to shoot her to warn her off," he said.
He said he wiped the bullets clean before loading them. One of the reasons would have been to make sure there were no fingerprints on them.
It was the 19th 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.
The prosecution has claimed that Mr Gilligan was "in control and command" of a criminal gang that imported and distributed large amounts of cannabis and that he organised the murder of Ms Guerin.
Bowden said he made a statement to gardai after his arrest on October 5th, 1996, in which he admitted his involvement in drug dealing.
Bowden, who is serving a six year sentence for drugs and firearms offences, admitted under cross-examination that he had lied to gardai many times in the first statement he made after his arrest.
He also admitted that when he had been in the Army for six years between 1983 and 1989 he had been court-martialled and demoted for assaulting recruits and suborning a witness.
Bowden told the court he was charged with drugs offences in October 1996 and freed on bail by the High Court six weeks later. He said his wife, Juliet, had raised the £30,000 surety by getting money from Brian Meehan, who is serving a life sentence for the Guerin murder, and from members of her family.
Bowden said he remained in Ireland until February 11th, 1997, and then went on the run to England. He said before that he had remained in contact with Det Garda Bernie Hanley and had met him a number of times.
He agreed Det Garda Hanley had given him £1,400 after he told him that some of the money seized from him by the gardai did not belong to him but belonged to his brother.
Bowden said that he had money which he did not give to gardai, including £15,000 hidden in a press, and "a couple of thousand pounds here and there".
The trial continues today.