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This programme contains
very strong language from the outset
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00:00:04,040 --> 00:00:05,960
and throughout.
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'Veronica Guerin
on Dublin's new young criminals,
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high on champagne and cocaine.'
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00:00:26,040 --> 00:00:29,480
'In the past two years,
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00:00:29,480 --> 00:00:33,000
Dublin's Drug Squad
has identified a new breed
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within the established order
of the narcotics hierarchy.
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00:00:36,560 --> 00:00:39,280
The new dealers are young and flashy
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00:00:39,280 --> 00:00:43,080
and make no attempt to hide their
lavish lifestyles.'
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'Cocaine
is held in special affection.'
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'The dealers believe
its high price and exclusivity
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00:00:51,560 --> 00:00:54,560
proves they are part
of a criminal elite.
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As their trade increases,
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00:00:57,360 --> 00:01:00,400
the yuppies
are becoming more confident.'
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♪ Hit it! ♪
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Whoo!
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The finest Bolivian flake.
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Just got a few bricks
in through the docks. No hassle.
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Go on, give it a whack.
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Ooh! Fuck me!
Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
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Whoo!
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All right, John. Give us a smile.
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Get that fucking thing off me.
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I don't want the fucking Guards
knocking down me fucking door!
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Little cocky shite.
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Lads. A toast to Dublin...
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...and our friends overseas.
And the importation business.
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Slainte.
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And to little Johnny,
fresh out of jail.
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Good to have you back, pal.
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Who the fuck does he think
he's calling small? Cheeky !
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♪ Here I go,
falling down, down, down
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♪ My mind is a blank
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♪ My head is spinning
around and around
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♪ As I go deep
into the funnel of love ♪
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00:02:45,280 --> 00:02:47,880
"The Irish economy
is certainly racing ahead.
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00:02:47,880 --> 00:02:50,880
Ireland's been dubbed
the "Celtic Tiger".
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00:02:50,880 --> 00:02:54,200
Its economic growth
is on a par with the Asian tigers.
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00:02:54,200 --> 00:02:56,840
New buildings are being thrown up
all the time.
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00:02:56,840 --> 00:02:59,240
They can't build hotels fast enough.
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00:02:59,240 --> 00:03:02,360
Traders are rubbing their hands
in glee."
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00:03:05,360 --> 00:03:08,360
All of a sudden,
people spoke about money
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00:03:08,360 --> 00:03:10,680
like everybody was a millionaire.
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00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:14,680
You know, people are talking
about private planes, helicopters.
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00:03:15,440 --> 00:03:17,040
But I remember nights in the club
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00:03:17,040 --> 00:03:19,960
where there'd be six, seven cars
with chauffeurs sitting in them,
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00:03:19,960 --> 00:03:22,520
waiting for their people
to come out of the club.
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00:03:26,840 --> 00:03:29,480
We opened a club called Renards
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00:03:29,480 --> 00:03:32,160
and became very successful.
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00:03:32,160 --> 00:03:35,640
Cocaine at the time
was everywhere in Dublin.
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00:03:37,040 --> 00:03:39,560
I remember some people
coming to the club
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00:03:39,560 --> 00:03:42,720
who were what we would have called
visiting VIPs,
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00:03:42,720 --> 00:03:45,360
but openly asking me
where they could get it.
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00:03:45,360 --> 00:03:48,680
So that was the first time
I really, you know,
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00:03:48,680 --> 00:03:50,720
realised that it was all around me.
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00:03:55,160 --> 00:03:59,040
In the mid-'90s, we had these laws
that shut down raves.
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00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:03,800
People were being encouraged to run
clubs where there was drinking.
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00:04:05,280 --> 00:04:07,880
But if you've just come
from ten years of raving,
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00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:09,800
drinking isn't gonna cut it.
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00:04:10,440 --> 00:04:14,040
So, walk in cocaine.
"Hi, I'm cocaine."
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And you can sit in a pub
coked off your tits.
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00:04:18,400 --> 00:04:22,280
You know what I mean? It's hard
to sit in a pub full of ecstasy.
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00:04:22,960 --> 00:04:25,480
And... it's very lucrative.
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00:04:30,240 --> 00:04:33,000
'Heroin thrived when times were bad,
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00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:35,760
and coke thrived
when times were good.'
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You could call up a courier and have
it couriered to where you were.
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00:04:42,800 --> 00:04:45,240
You didn't have to go down a dark alleyway
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00:04:45,240 --> 00:04:48,960
and talk to horrible people anymore.
It was a sanitised operation.
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If anything was branded absolutely
brilliantly, it was cocaine.
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It's clean, it's white, it's pure.
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The models use it,
the rock stars use it.
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It's gonna give you great sex,
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give you the best night
of your life.
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I was at a house party.
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00:05:11,160 --> 00:05:14,480
There's a bloke from the north
of the city in there,
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00:05:14,480 --> 00:05:18,320
and I was up talking to him
about the dogs and stuff like that,
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and he just whacked out line.
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00:05:21,680 --> 00:05:25,600
And I said, "That tastes funny.
Is that speed?"
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And he goes, "No, that's cocaine."
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I was just floating.
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Every colour was brighter.
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Everything was sweeter.
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When you found out it was coke,
did that put you off?
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00:05:39,120 --> 00:05:42,080
No. It was, "Where's another one?"
85
00:05:43,120 --> 00:05:46,160
But there is a downside to coke.
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You have a gorilla on your back.
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Like a big, white albino gorilla
saying, "Get more! Get more!"
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00:06:02,800 --> 00:06:05,560
Both my parents died
when I was young.
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00:06:06,600 --> 00:06:08,400
I was a little brat.
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I was getting into scraps and that.
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00:06:14,160 --> 00:06:18,080
Robbing orchards and getting
in trouble with the Guards.
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00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:23,240
But I started lifting weights.
I was training with powerlifters.
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And by the time I was 20, I was
entering Mr Ireland competitions.
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00:06:31,400 --> 00:06:33,960
My nickname
in one of the gyms was Tarzan,
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00:06:33,960 --> 00:06:36,080
cos I had a 21" neck
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00:06:37,600 --> 00:06:40,680
Back then, I was a henchman,
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collecting money for drug dealers.
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00:06:46,120 --> 00:06:48,760
And around that time in Dublin,
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00:06:48,760 --> 00:06:51,080
coke really exploded.
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So I started selling.
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I knew about 30 suppliers,
because I was collecting for them.
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So I had that network...
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...and then I had transport.
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00:07:04,920 --> 00:07:08,640
Once you have that, you're
streets ahead of everyone else,
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00:07:08,640 --> 00:07:11,600
because you can go
to a cheaper source abroad.
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00:07:13,080 --> 00:07:15,120
How did you bring the stuff in?
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00:07:15,120 --> 00:07:19,880
We had a pick-up truck, and you'd
have, like, all the equipment,
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00:07:19,880 --> 00:07:23,600
as if you were going to fix a road.
And they'd be like a drum,
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00:07:23,600 --> 00:07:26,640
and there might be 2Ks of coke in
that. And then you'd put that
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00:07:26,640 --> 00:07:28,680
on the back of this pick-up
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00:07:28,680 --> 00:07:31,200
and you'd put a load of hot tarmac
on to it.
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There'd be steam
coming off the tarmac.
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It was big style.
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00:07:35,760 --> 00:07:39,520
So you'd get a chemical truck
with a big drum on the back,
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a big motherfucker,
and you'd fill it with mercury.
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When they X-ray it, mercury's metal,
they can't see through it,
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so you'd sail through.
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It was easy.
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00:07:52,480 --> 00:07:55,720
If I wanted to, I could have
brought in a fucking elephant.
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00:08:02,640 --> 00:08:05,000
At that time, a lot of people
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00:08:05,000 --> 00:08:07,560
were spending money on cocaine
and partying.
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00:08:10,160 --> 00:08:13,880
And there was a gang
that heard about me driving skills.
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00:08:14,480 --> 00:08:17,760
They offered me a bit of work
with them as a driver...
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00:08:18,600 --> 00:08:20,600
...moving drugs.
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00:08:25,520 --> 00:08:29,600
I got me first car when I was 12.
12?!12, yeah.
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00:08:29,600 --> 00:08:32,160
I saved up Holy Communion money.
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00:08:32,160 --> 00:08:34,640
So I started off driving very young.
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00:08:34,640 --> 00:08:38,080
I always pushed
the car to the real limits.
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00:08:42,640 --> 00:08:44,760
When I was couriering the drugs,
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00:08:44,760 --> 00:08:47,400
it involved me
transporting all sorts.
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00:08:47,400 --> 00:08:51,040
I loved driving and I loved cars,
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00:08:51,040 --> 00:08:53,280
so it really was my dream job
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00:08:58,800 --> 00:09:00,800
Weekends was the busiest.
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00:09:06,200 --> 00:09:09,680
And then I just meet different
dealers all about the place.
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00:09:10,760 --> 00:09:15,040
Driving fast, it would be
just a feeling of euphoria.
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00:09:15,040 --> 00:09:17,760
The Guards could never,
ever catch me.
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00:09:17,760 --> 00:09:22,640
I actually said to them if a Guard
was able to catch me driving,
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00:09:22,640 --> 00:09:25,800
I would shake his hand,
because I felt that unstoppable.
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00:09:26,760 --> 00:09:31,200
In the 1990s, the Guards
just didn't have the knowledge
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00:09:31,200 --> 00:09:34,640
how to actually go about
bringing these guys down.
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00:09:34,640 --> 00:09:38,120
So they were fairly untouchable
at the time.
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00:09:39,080 --> 00:09:42,200
'This was the very thing
that Veronica saw
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00:09:42,200 --> 00:09:45,200
and realised
that something had to be done.
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00:09:47,640 --> 00:09:51,600
I first met Veronica in the newsroom
of the Sunday Independent.
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00:09:52,080 --> 00:09:54,080
We just clicked straightaway.
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00:09:55,040 --> 00:09:57,960
We bonded over our love
for Manchester United.'
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00:09:57,960 --> 00:10:01,360
And I think the only time
I ever saw her genuinely stymied
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00:10:01,360 --> 00:10:04,440
was when Eric Cantona,
who we both worshipped,
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00:10:04,440 --> 00:10:08,240
walked in and I said,
"Do you want a photograph with him?"
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00:10:08,240 --> 00:10:10,840
'And she was just starstruck.
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00:10:13,200 --> 00:10:17,040
Veronica was one of those people
that never stopped moving.
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00:10:17,040 --> 00:10:19,120
She was a one-woman band.
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00:10:19,120 --> 00:10:22,040
She had her phone,
she had her car, and that was it.'
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00:10:22,040 --> 00:10:24,600
She would only come into the office
for meetings
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00:10:24,600 --> 00:10:28,920
and just to kind of blaze through
like a force of nature.
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00:10:29,800 --> 00:10:32,080
'Everything about her
was quite unique.
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00:10:33,080 --> 00:10:35,080
She just was an unlikely journalist
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00:10:35,080 --> 00:10:37,680
and she was
even a more unlikely heroine.
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00:10:39,480 --> 00:10:43,160
Drugs really took hold of Dublin
City throughout the '80s.'
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00:10:43,160 --> 00:10:47,880
And it went
from small family-run units...
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00:10:48,840 --> 00:10:53,760
...into much more highly organised
and very ruthless gangs,
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00:10:53,760 --> 00:10:56,760
and they ran the streets.
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00:10:56,760 --> 00:10:59,920
'Veronica had a strong
crusading streak in her
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00:10:59,920 --> 00:11:02,600
and a real sense of social justice.'
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00:11:03,520 --> 00:11:07,880
She felt very strongly
about the depredations
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00:11:07,880 --> 00:11:11,280
caused to her local community
by drugs,
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00:11:11,280 --> 00:11:17,520
and just felt that the story really
wasn't being dealt with properly.
168
00:11:20,440 --> 00:11:23,840
'So she decided
to go after these guys.'
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00:11:42,680 --> 00:11:46,360
"A traditional assumption,
all in aspiring journalists needs
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00:11:46,360 --> 00:11:49,720
is a nose for news,
a notebook and ambition."
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00:11:49,720 --> 00:11:54,080
'For a small country,
we produce a lot of big criminals,
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00:11:54,080 --> 00:11:56,480
But in Dublin in the '90s,
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00:11:56,480 --> 00:11:59,920
there was a massive investment
in good investigative journalism.'
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00:12:06,440 --> 00:12:09,440
'From a really young age
I was always interested
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00:12:09,440 --> 00:12:13,080
in sort of nailing the bad guy,
for want of a better word.
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00:12:14,400 --> 00:12:17,320
A job came up
on the Sunday World in 1987.
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00:12:17,320 --> 00:12:19,920
I was a photographer,
I was 20 years of age,
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00:12:19,920 --> 00:12:22,680
this was just like
a whole new world.
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00:12:23,640 --> 00:12:26,960
Heroin had gripped the city
by the time I arrived,
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00:12:26,960 --> 00:12:30,080
and a lot of us
had seen the damage around Dublin
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00:12:30,080 --> 00:12:32,000
that the drugs were causing.
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00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:35,800
So when we found out who was
running it, we'd go after 'em.
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00:12:35,800 --> 00:12:39,720
These drug lords, they were bringing
the rot into the country.
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00:12:39,720 --> 00:12:42,360
But that meant
we had to be very careful.
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00:12:43,920 --> 00:12:47,360
'They're some
of the most dangerous people
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00:12:47,360 --> 00:12:50,520
the country has to offer,
so you approached them slowly.
187
00:12:51,880 --> 00:12:55,840
You learnt
to watch them, survey them.
188
00:12:55,840 --> 00:12:58,880
You had three or four cameras
at your disposal,
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00:12:58,880 --> 00:13:02,360
usually in the footwell of the
passenger seat, always ready to go,
190
00:13:02,360 --> 00:13:06,000
cos it was a split second.
191
00:13:06,800 --> 00:13:09,680
There was other crime journalists
on daily newspapers and, yeah,
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00:13:09,680 --> 00:13:13,600
there was great rivalry, but
good friendship between them all.
193
00:13:13,600 --> 00:13:15,880
You know, we'd go for a pint.'
194
00:13:16,960 --> 00:13:19,760
And Veronica Guerin was writing
for the Sunday Independent,
195
00:13:19,760 --> 00:13:22,200
which was the Sunday World's
sister paper,
196
00:13:22,200 --> 00:13:25,200
and we respected Veronica
hugely as a journalist.
197
00:13:25,200 --> 00:13:29,160
There's so much money
in the whole drugs industry,
198
00:13:29,160 --> 00:13:32,600
and it really is
a multimillion pound industry,
199
00:13:32,600 --> 00:13:37,400
and, therefore, you've got people
at all levels
200
00:13:37,400 --> 00:13:40,600
within this drug industry getting
into to try and make money.
201
00:13:40,600 --> 00:13:44,920
They're motivated by avarice
and therefore nothing else matters.
202
00:13:44,920 --> 00:13:47,840
Veronica introduced the notion
of follow the money.
203
00:13:47,840 --> 00:13:50,000
A bit like in the States. You know,
204
00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:52,720
Al Capone was brought down
over his taxes.
205
00:13:52,720 --> 00:13:56,400
She suddenly realised
that this was the vulnerability
206
00:13:56,400 --> 00:13:58,640
of these high-ranking criminals.
207
00:13:58,640 --> 00:14:01,160
You know, if there is a money
trail to be found,
208
00:14:01,160 --> 00:14:03,960
that's the way of proving
that it's ill-gotten gains.
209
00:14:03,960 --> 00:14:08,280
And at that time,
there was this cabal of people
210
00:14:08,280 --> 00:14:11,760
who just seemed to have unlimited
funds, that were driving flash cars,
211
00:14:11,760 --> 00:14:15,160
that owned huge properties
off the back of the proceeds
212
00:14:15,160 --> 00:14:17,200
of crime and drugs.
213
00:14:20,280 --> 00:14:23,800
Everything you touched
was turning into money.
214
00:14:24,640 --> 00:14:28,520
At the peak, it was probably
30 grand every ten days.
215
00:14:29,640 --> 00:14:33,440
The coke that I'd bring in,
it was always good quality.
216
00:14:33,440 --> 00:14:37,600
You could cut it with glucose
and people still would be happy.
217
00:14:37,600 --> 00:14:41,960
You'd get 100 grams and you
could make 500 grams out of it.
218
00:14:43,080 --> 00:14:45,360
I was just buying everything.
219
00:14:47,600 --> 00:14:49,520
...that used to drive me round,
220
00:14:49,520 --> 00:14:52,640
and if I would see
any homeless people,
221
00:14:52,640 --> 00:14:55,200
I opened the glove box,
222
00:14:55,200 --> 00:14:57,440
it was full of fucking 50s,
223
00:14:57,440 --> 00:15:00,280
and I'd give the homeless person 50.
224
00:15:00,280 --> 00:15:03,280
I was mad.
I just used to give it away.
225
00:15:06,960 --> 00:15:10,400
I remember flying into London,
I had me son with me.
226
00:15:10,400 --> 00:15:12,040
We went to Harrods.
227
00:15:12,040 --> 00:15:15,480
I dropped about five grand
in one afternoon.
228
00:15:15,480 --> 00:15:18,560
You never think it's gonna end. You
know what I mean?
229
00:15:18,560 --> 00:15:21,880
Because you have other twist coming
and another one coming,
230
00:15:21,880 --> 00:15:23,840
so you just blew the money.
231
00:15:25,880 --> 00:15:29,720
In the '90s, it was certainly
a bit of a Wild West out there.
232
00:15:34,720 --> 00:15:36,720
You had a dual economy.
233
00:15:36,720 --> 00:15:40,200
You had the black economy
as well as the legitimate economy.
234
00:15:40,200 --> 00:15:43,960
And the black economy was really
cash changing hands.
235
00:15:45,080 --> 00:15:48,360
There was a lot of people
who were outside the system.
236
00:15:48,360 --> 00:15:52,480
And I think the police at the time
were demoralised,
237
00:15:52,480 --> 00:15:57,920
because criminals were being caught,
but because they had money,
238
00:15:57,920 --> 00:16:01,080
they had access to good barristers
and solicitors,
239
00:16:01,080 --> 00:16:05,240
and they were out on the street
almost before detectives
240
00:16:05,240 --> 00:16:07,280
got back to the Garda station.
241
00:16:09,320 --> 00:16:11,960
In 1994, I was a Detective Inspector
242
00:16:11,960 --> 00:16:14,920
in charge of the
Money Laundering Investigation Unit.
243
00:16:19,360 --> 00:16:22,480
At that time we were seeing huge
amounts of wealth
244
00:16:22,480 --> 00:16:25,400
moving through
the Irish financial system.
245
00:16:25,400 --> 00:16:28,000
And people
who had been a petty criminal,
246
00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:31,720
all of a sudden
were moving in different circles.
247
00:16:31,720 --> 00:16:34,360
And there was huge signs of wealth
in Dublin
248
00:16:34,360 --> 00:16:36,840
among people who had never worked.
249
00:16:38,680 --> 00:16:42,160
It was plain to see that
the drug business was increasing.
250
00:16:44,520 --> 00:16:46,800
And we found from our investigations
251
00:16:46,800 --> 00:16:50,760
that a lot of money was being made
by John Gilligan and his associates.
252
00:16:50,760 --> 00:16:53,680
All right, John. Give us a smile.
253
00:16:58,520 --> 00:17:01,400
John Gilligan,
nicknamed "Factory John"
254
00:17:01,400 --> 00:17:04,120
for his love of robbing factories,
255
00:17:04,120 --> 00:17:07,520
often holding security men or truck
drivers hostage
256
00:17:07,520 --> 00:17:09,560
and beating them up badly.
257
00:17:10,760 --> 00:17:15,400
He then soon went from that...
to drug smuggling.
258
00:17:16,080 --> 00:17:18,800
It's estimated
that over about a three year period
259
00:17:18,800 --> 00:17:20,600
the street value they brought in
260
00:17:20,600 --> 00:17:23,200
about 180 million euros
worth of hashish.
261
00:17:27,680 --> 00:17:30,000
John Gilligan came to our notice
262
00:17:30,000 --> 00:17:32,320
because of his involvement
in cannabis.
263
00:17:36,960 --> 00:17:40,640
We had specific intelligence
some of it was coming from Lebanon,
264
00:17:40,640 --> 00:17:44,200
some of it was coming from Morocco
into Ireland,
265
00:17:44,200 --> 00:17:47,240
and then broken into smaller
shipments to be distributed
266
00:17:47,240 --> 00:17:51,440
either around the country here or
there were shipments into the UK.
267
00:17:52,560 --> 00:17:55,160
But he always remained
removed from it.
268
00:17:55,720 --> 00:17:58,360
Why cannabis
rather than harder drugs?
269
00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:02,040
So it may have been
a business decision.
270
00:18:02,040 --> 00:18:05,560
He didn't have to compete with some
of the criminal gangs
271
00:18:05,560 --> 00:18:08,520
that were actually
importing heroin and cocaine,
272
00:18:08,520 --> 00:18:11,360
but he expected to make
considerable wealth from it,
273
00:18:11,360 --> 00:18:16,800
and he was very determined that that
was what he was going to do.
274
00:18:19,840 --> 00:18:22,200
At that time, the banks
275
00:18:22,200 --> 00:18:24,680
were reporting suspicious
transactions to us
276
00:18:24,680 --> 00:18:29,960
in relation to monies that were
moving to the Jessbrook facility.
277
00:18:34,160 --> 00:18:37,160
Gilligan and his wife Geraldine
278
00:18:37,160 --> 00:18:40,560
had bought this massive equestrian centre,
279
00:18:40,560 --> 00:18:44,280
valued at
something like £4 million...
280
00:18:44,280 --> 00:18:48,040
and they had begun to become
upwardly mobile,
281
00:18:48,040 --> 00:18:52,840
hold equestrian events, get to know
the local dignitaries...
282
00:18:53,600 --> 00:18:58,120
...and had really begun to integrate
themselves into polite society.
283
00:18:59,240 --> 00:19:01,560
These were people
who would not have...
284
00:19:03,400 --> 00:19:06,240
...and showed no means
of earning this money.
285
00:19:06,240 --> 00:19:10,040
So we started to focus our attention
on where did the money come from?
286
00:19:10,920 --> 00:19:14,960
And that's when
we set up an an operation.
287
00:19:14,960 --> 00:19:19,880
But we could clearly see
that we had an uphill battle
288
00:19:19,880 --> 00:19:23,200
linking it
to the drug trafficking trade.
289
00:19:27,520 --> 00:19:31,400
The sad part of it is
that the Guards and the journalists
290
00:19:31,400 --> 00:19:35,200
and the dogs in the street know who,
more often than not,
291
00:19:35,200 --> 00:19:37,880
who is responsible for carrying out
the crimes,
292
00:19:37,880 --> 00:19:39,920
and yet nothing can be done.
293
00:19:41,760 --> 00:19:45,720
Being a journalist, Veronica had
realised the libel laws in Ireland
294
00:19:45,720 --> 00:19:50,120
are incredibly strict,
so she devised this way
295
00:19:50,120 --> 00:19:53,320
of bringing these people
out of the darkness into the light
296
00:19:53,320 --> 00:19:55,480
by giving them nicknames.
297
00:19:56,440 --> 00:19:59,560
We couldn't use the names
at the time because there was no
298
00:19:59,560 --> 00:20:03,480
major criminal convictions against
the country's biggest crime bosses.
299
00:20:03,480 --> 00:20:08,920
But such names started appearing
like the Coach, the Zombie,
300
00:20:08,920 --> 00:20:11,880
the Penguin, the Viper.
301
00:20:11,880 --> 00:20:16,840
In a way, silly type... comic book
names, but make no mistake,
302
00:20:16,840 --> 00:20:19,520
these were dangerous,
violent criminals.
303
00:20:20,680 --> 00:20:23,680
Ireland is the land
of myth and story.
304
00:20:23,680 --> 00:20:25,600
And we love stories, and we love,
305
00:20:25,600 --> 00:20:28,160
you know,
when the hero becomes the villain
306
00:20:28,160 --> 00:20:30,360
and goes back and the lines are blurred.
307
00:20:30,360 --> 00:20:34,280
So probably the most notorious one
in this country was the General.
308
00:20:34,280 --> 00:20:37,040
Why are you wearing a balaclava
- over your face?
- Wouldn't you,
309
00:20:37,040 --> 00:20:41,160
with all the things they're saying
about ya? Mickey Mouse!
310
00:20:41,160 --> 00:20:43,480
He was like a Robin Hood.
311
00:20:43,480 --> 00:20:46,560
You know,
rob from the rich give to the poor.
312
00:20:46,560 --> 00:20:49,320
He famously robbed a big posh gaff.
313
00:20:49,960 --> 00:20:52,200
"Gardai allege
the General had a hand
314
00:20:52,200 --> 00:20:54,880
in the theft of £20 million worth
of paintings.
315
00:20:54,880 --> 00:20:57,320
It was the world's
biggest ever art robbery.
316
00:20:57,320 --> 00:21:00,920
Only a few of the paintings
have so far been recovered."
317
00:21:01,480 --> 00:21:04,600
Martin Cahill,
otherwise known as the General.
318
00:21:05,480 --> 00:21:08,440
He was an armed robber,
he did deal in drugs.
319
00:21:09,280 --> 00:21:12,200
There would be a number of us
following him. Like, I personally
320
00:21:12,200 --> 00:21:14,480
on and off was on him for two years.
321
00:21:14,480 --> 00:21:16,920
The picture of his face
was a golden nugget.
322
00:21:16,920 --> 00:21:19,920
It became a bit of a running joke
around the country.
323
00:21:22,040 --> 00:21:25,360
"He was also known to have organised
sprees of tyres slashing
324
00:21:25,360 --> 00:21:27,400
in the vicinity of Garda stations,
325
00:21:27,400 --> 00:21:30,120
and on one occasion
to have had his lieutenants
326
00:21:30,120 --> 00:21:32,600
dig up the greens
at the Garda club in Stackstown
327
00:21:32,600 --> 00:21:34,800
in the Dublin Mountains."
328
00:21:34,800 --> 00:21:37,560
A lot of the criminals at some stage
had worked with him,
329
00:21:37,560 --> 00:21:40,960
had done a factory job with him
or a bank.
330
00:21:40,960 --> 00:21:43,440
For example, John Gilligan and
the General
331
00:21:43,440 --> 00:21:47,760
would have together going back
to the mid-'70s into the '80s.
332
00:21:47,760 --> 00:21:52,560
He liked to give this impression
that he was one of these ODCs,
333
00:21:52,560 --> 00:21:55,240
Ordinary Decent Criminal, you know.
334
00:21:55,240 --> 00:21:58,240
He would help out the poor
or his family,
335
00:21:58,240 --> 00:22:02,680
but behind it... he dished out
some real, real violence.
336
00:22:07,120 --> 00:22:10,360
He was against murder, it would just
bring too much heat...
337
00:22:11,120 --> 00:22:13,280
...but you might
get nailed to a table.
338
00:22:14,840 --> 00:22:18,200
His favourite trick
was to pin people to pool tables
339
00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:21,120
if he felt that they had snitched on him.
340
00:22:22,120 --> 00:22:25,040
I think it's fair to say
he was a psychopath.
341
00:22:27,120 --> 00:22:30,560
I was an acting news editor
at the Sunday Independent...
342
00:22:31,440 --> 00:22:35,800
...and I remember Veronica was
determined to talk to him.
343
00:22:35,800 --> 00:22:39,080
She had that kind of steely determination.
344
00:22:39,080 --> 00:22:41,120
She was doing a story
about the General,
345
00:22:41,120 --> 00:22:45,120
and she dropped letters in his
letterbox asking for an interview
346
00:22:45,120 --> 00:22:47,480
five times in one week.
347
00:22:48,760 --> 00:22:53,800
'Criminal A is 47 from the
Rathmines/Ranelagh area of Dublin.
348
00:22:53,800 --> 00:22:56,200
He's believed
to have been responsible
349
00:22:56,200 --> 00:22:58,440
for some of Ireland's major crimes.
350
00:22:58,440 --> 00:23:03,000
Former associates have suffered the
most barbaric punishments.
351
00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:07,040
He is understood to be financing the
younger members of his family
352
00:23:07,040 --> 00:23:09,920
involved
in the Dublin drugs market.'
353
00:23:09,920 --> 00:23:11,480
We do know that he funded
354
00:23:11,480 --> 00:23:15,280
John Gilligan's first big shipment
of drugs into Ireland
355
00:23:15,280 --> 00:23:19,880
back in February '94
of about 300,000 euros,
356
00:23:19,880 --> 00:23:22,320
and he was due that money back.
357
00:23:31,360 --> 00:23:34,480
"The ambush happened shortly after
three o'clock in Ranelagh,
358
00:23:34,480 --> 00:23:37,960
a well-known bedsitter suburb
on the south side of the city."
359
00:23:40,960 --> 00:23:43,960
In August 1994...
360
00:23:43,960 --> 00:23:46,240
the General was assassinated.
361
00:23:46,240 --> 00:23:51,280
He was going to a video store when
a motorbike pulled up beside him
362
00:23:51,280 --> 00:23:53,320
and pumped him full of bullets.
363
00:23:53,320 --> 00:23:55,920
The car came around the corner
364
00:23:55,920 --> 00:23:59,560
and the guy ran along
at the driver's side... shouting.
365
00:24:00,840 --> 00:24:03,960
It was clear that the younger crowd
coming up,
366
00:24:03,960 --> 00:24:08,360
they were going to be far more
ruthless than he had ever been.
367
00:24:11,080 --> 00:24:13,800
'The Gardai are aware
that Cahill's associates
368
00:24:13,800 --> 00:24:16,400
intend to avenge his death.
369
00:24:19,240 --> 00:24:25,880
Dublin City is currently like a
tinderbox just waiting to explode.'
370
00:24:28,680 --> 00:24:30,680
So when the General is murdered,
371
00:24:30,680 --> 00:24:33,560
very quickly Dublin becomes
more violent.
372
00:24:34,880 --> 00:24:38,080
You start to see the emergence
of the gangland hits.
373
00:24:38,080 --> 00:24:41,560
There's an extraordinary explosion
of gangland killings.
374
00:24:51,680 --> 00:24:53,960
Before Martin Cahill was murdered,
375
00:24:53,960 --> 00:24:56,600
there seemed to be
a code of conduct...
376
00:24:56,600 --> 00:24:59,440
...but that stops.
377
00:25:04,560 --> 00:25:07,920
Paranoia sets in because they're
using their own drug.
378
00:25:11,120 --> 00:25:14,360
And a lot of them
had this awful thirst for blood.
379
00:25:17,640 --> 00:25:19,640
There's this lack of trust.
380
00:25:20,920 --> 00:25:24,880
And these are gangs that could
have come up as childhood friends.
381
00:25:26,280 --> 00:25:28,280
All right, Pat?
382
00:25:28,680 --> 00:25:30,680
No.
383
00:25:31,720 --> 00:25:33,800
Someone's been stealing from me.
384
00:25:34,640 --> 00:25:36,640
What?
385
00:25:43,480 --> 00:25:45,480
Fucking shite hawk!
386
00:25:48,360 --> 00:25:52,200
The new element now
is the openness of the killing.
387
00:25:52,200 --> 00:25:55,360
There are people in this city
prepared to go knock on the door
388
00:25:55,360 --> 00:25:57,960
and shoot someone dead?
But that is what's happening.
389
00:25:57,960 --> 00:25:59,720
They have no respect at all
390
00:25:59,720 --> 00:26:02,680
for either... for individuals
or for property.
391
00:26:02,680 --> 00:26:05,840
The week before last, there were
two shootings in North Dublin.
392
00:26:05,840 --> 00:26:09,840
One guy has nearly lost a leg and
another guy was kneecapped.
393
00:26:12,440 --> 00:26:16,680
'Since Cahill's murder, detectives
have received information
394
00:26:16,680 --> 00:26:18,960
that other people are at risk...
395
00:26:20,040 --> 00:26:22,000
...including me.'
396
00:26:29,560 --> 00:26:31,560
Veronica had rang me.
397
00:26:33,200 --> 00:26:36,040
She was alone in the house
at the time.
398
00:26:36,040 --> 00:26:38,760
Uh-huh.
399
00:26:39,920 --> 00:26:44,320
And she went, "Oh, someone's
at the door."I'll call you back.
400
00:26:55,720 --> 00:26:58,080
Oh, Christ!
401
00:27:12,120 --> 00:27:15,440
"The shooting happened shortly after
seven o'clock this evening.
402
00:27:15,440 --> 00:27:18,680
It was presumed to be a warning from
a crime gang
403
00:27:18,680 --> 00:27:21,160
not to push her investigations
too far."
404
00:27:21,880 --> 00:27:25,760
I can really still hear
the sound of the shot...
405
00:27:25,760 --> 00:27:29,840
and, er ...a stinging sensation
in my...
406
00:27:29,840 --> 00:27:33,200
just a sting in my leg.
407
00:27:33,200 --> 00:27:37,200
When she was brought to hospital,
they said it was a miracle
408
00:27:37,200 --> 00:27:39,760
that she hadn't bled out
on the floor.
409
00:27:41,040 --> 00:27:44,360
It really wasn't clear
who had ordered that shooting...
410
00:27:45,280 --> 00:27:49,600
...because around that time she had
actually done a few pieces
411
00:27:49,600 --> 00:27:52,120
on fairly high profile figures.
412
00:27:53,640 --> 00:27:55,640
It's a massive trauma being shot,
413
00:27:55,640 --> 00:27:58,400
but she was
absolutely determined to go on.
414
00:28:00,200 --> 00:28:04,360
I think what she really wanted to do
was try and make the authorities see
415
00:28:04,360 --> 00:28:07,200
what was going on under their noses.
416
00:28:07,200 --> 00:28:11,080
These were the high ranking members
of the criminal underworld,
417
00:28:11,080 --> 00:28:14,120
people who had never been written
about before.
418
00:28:14,120 --> 00:28:17,320
And it's hard to emphasise
just how much freedom
419
00:28:17,320 --> 00:28:20,240
that these people, you know,
had to operate in.
420
00:28:20,240 --> 00:28:22,280
♪ PORTISHEAD: Numb
421
00:28:26,120 --> 00:28:31,800
The trouble is you were dealing with
dangerous, often unstable people.
422
00:28:34,800 --> 00:28:37,600
Don't make war, make friends
423
00:28:37,600 --> 00:28:40,400
and make everyone
loads of fucking money.
424
00:28:40,400 --> 00:28:42,440
That was my philosophy.
425
00:28:42,440 --> 00:28:47,040
But in the '90s, you had crews
ripping each other off,
426
00:28:47,040 --> 00:28:50,320
and that's when
the violence would start.
427
00:28:51,160 --> 00:28:56,880
And the papers, they could
get you whacked like that.
428
00:28:58,560 --> 00:29:00,720
Never mind the police, if you were
429
00:29:00,720 --> 00:29:03,960
in the limelight of the media,
you're fucked.
430
00:29:08,800 --> 00:29:13,000
I had a ground rule where I'd eat
three meals before I'd do a line,
431
00:29:13,000 --> 00:29:17,840
but that could be 11 o'clock.
A banana, that's one.
432
00:29:17,840 --> 00:29:21,440
You know, a grape, there's another
one. "Right, give me a line."
433
00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:32,040
In this game, you had to be sharp.
434
00:29:32,040 --> 00:29:35,240
And a little bit of paranoia's
a good thing,
435
00:29:35,240 --> 00:29:37,640
but with coke,
once it's surrounding you,
436
00:29:37,640 --> 00:29:40,960
you start seeing things,
you start hearing things.
437
00:29:40,960 --> 00:29:43,960
- Run!
- Like, if you got a phone call
off someone
438
00:29:43,960 --> 00:29:49,120
and they was a bit cheeky, you'd
start twisting it and twisting it.
439
00:29:49,120 --> 00:29:52,680
And before you know where you
are there's an assassin coming,
440
00:29:52,680 --> 00:29:56,240
and he's flying in
on a helicopter.
441
00:30:07,960 --> 00:30:09,960
And the Guards,
442
00:30:09,960 --> 00:30:12,800
they'd start hearing about
what I was doing.
443
00:30:13,360 --> 00:30:17,080
And they got this
member of the Drug Squad
444
00:30:17,080 --> 00:30:20,560
up from down the country.
He was a really good driver.
445
00:30:23,320 --> 00:30:26,520
Caught me straightaway,
he turned around after me and...
446
00:30:29,920 --> 00:30:32,720
Usually, I'd lose the Guards
in two minutes,
447
00:30:32,720 --> 00:30:36,120
but the chase went on
for just over an hour.
448
00:30:36,120 --> 00:30:40,400
I knew the car
would actually do 125mph.
449
00:30:40,400 --> 00:30:44,040
And I was going round the bends at
that speed, that's how I lost them.
450
00:30:44,720 --> 00:30:47,760
But most of me money
went up ne nose.
451
00:30:47,760 --> 00:30:50,840
And as me addiction with cocaine
went on,
452
00:30:50,840 --> 00:30:53,400
it started to interfere
with my mind a lot.
453
00:30:54,080 --> 00:30:56,160
When I was driving,
I was that paranoid,
454
00:30:56,160 --> 00:30:59,520
I was looking in the mirror
thinking the Guards was after me.
455
00:31:00,560 --> 00:31:02,560
I remember one time I had cocaine,
456
00:31:02,560 --> 00:31:05,520
it was the best cocaine
on the market,
457
00:31:05,520 --> 00:31:08,840
I buried it in the ground,
went back to get it,
458
00:31:08,840 --> 00:31:11,920
and couldn't find it
in the area at all.
459
00:31:13,840 --> 00:31:17,880
Went and got a fella with a digger
to dig around the whole area
460
00:31:17,880 --> 00:31:20,760
to find it
and we still never found it.
461
00:31:21,520 --> 00:31:23,720
That's when I just said,
462
00:31:23,720 --> 00:31:27,280
"Flip this!
I can't continue this life anymore."
463
00:31:28,160 --> 00:31:31,200
How long did it take you to decide,
"I'm a crime reporter,
464
00:31:31,200 --> 00:31:33,040
I'm going to keep on doing it"?
465
00:31:33,040 --> 00:31:37,320
I decided that... I went through a
whole series of emotions. I mean,
466
00:31:37,320 --> 00:31:40,160
I did consider getting out of it,
467
00:31:40,160 --> 00:31:45,160
and then I just realised that that
would probably be more of a strain
468
00:31:45,160 --> 00:31:48,920
than staying in it. And it's my job,
it's what I do,
469
00:31:48,920 --> 00:31:52,080
and somebody has to do it.
I'm not the only crime reporter
470
00:31:52,080 --> 00:31:55,120
that does this. And I think that the
regrettable thing
471
00:31:55,120 --> 00:31:57,920
is that we're all probably targets, unfortunately.
472
00:31:57,920 --> 00:32:01,520
Veronica, thank you very much for
- coming in.
- Thank you.
473
00:32:04,880 --> 00:32:08,560
The feeling was she was getting
very close to someone very big.
474
00:32:08,560 --> 00:32:13,400
And then we heard through the
newspapers that it was Gilligan
475
00:32:13,400 --> 00:32:15,640
that she was edging towards.
476
00:32:15,640 --> 00:32:19,400
♪ And it's no, nay, never... ♪
477
00:32:19,400 --> 00:32:22,440
Until Veronica Guerin
pinpointed him,
478
00:32:22,440 --> 00:32:25,760
a lot of people
had never heard of him.
479
00:32:27,080 --> 00:32:31,840
He was a more mysterious figure
than the General,
480
00:32:31,840 --> 00:32:35,240
but he really was coining it.
481
00:32:35,240 --> 00:32:39,600
I mean, he employed two people
full time just counting the cash.
482
00:32:41,840 --> 00:32:43,760
In some ways,
483
00:32:43,760 --> 00:32:46,000
he was almost like
a childish type character,
484
00:32:46,000 --> 00:32:49,040
the pint-sized John,
as some people would call him.
485
00:32:49,040 --> 00:32:50,520
But again, he was the furthest
486
00:32:50,520 --> 00:32:53,240
from an ordinary decent criminal
that we've ever seen.
487
00:32:53,240 --> 00:32:56,600
All his gang had to revolve around
him all his family.
488
00:32:56,600 --> 00:32:59,640
Anyone connected to him
had to revolve around him,
489
00:32:59,640 --> 00:33:01,680
tell him he was great.
490
00:33:01,680 --> 00:33:04,760
John Gilligan, more than anybody,
ran his gang on fear.
491
00:33:05,640 --> 00:33:08,760
And these were really dangerous
people, like Brian Meehan.
492
00:33:08,760 --> 00:33:10,840
Little cocky shite!
493
00:33:10,840 --> 00:33:12,960
Very violent criminals.
494
00:33:14,720 --> 00:33:19,640
Gilligan was known to be a
very volatile individual,
495
00:33:19,640 --> 00:33:22,800
and he was somebody who was
particularly paranoid
496
00:33:22,800 --> 00:33:24,840
about appearing in print.
497
00:33:25,520 --> 00:33:29,120
'Criminal B is 43
498
00:33:29,120 --> 00:33:32,400
and lives in the
Rathfarnham area of Dublin.
499
00:33:32,400 --> 00:33:36,160
He travels regularly
to the continent and the Far East
500
00:33:36,160 --> 00:33:40,680
to arrange his drug deals
but never carries it himself.
501
00:33:40,680 --> 00:33:44,960
Over the past ten years, he has
diverted his activities
502
00:33:44,960 --> 00:33:48,960
from armed robberies into the more
lucrative drug market.
503
00:33:48,960 --> 00:33:52,720
He is now regarded as Dublin's
leading drug baron.'
504
00:33:56,160 --> 00:33:59,000
Veronica had been chasing a few
stories on him...
505
00:33:59,000 --> 00:34:02,120
and this absolutely enraged him.
506
00:34:04,800 --> 00:34:08,760
The fact that somebody
was threatening to peel off
507
00:34:08,760 --> 00:34:12,080
those very thin layers of
respectability from his life
508
00:34:12,080 --> 00:34:14,120
and expose who he really was.
509
00:34:21,480 --> 00:34:24,680
She was on a story outside Dublin
and suddenly realised
510
00:34:24,680 --> 00:34:28,040
that she was quite close
to the equestrian centre.
511
00:34:28,040 --> 00:34:30,840
So she decided to pay a call.
512
00:34:30,840 --> 00:34:34,960
This is quite normal in journalism,
it's called "door stepping".
513
00:34:45,720 --> 00:34:48,560
Mr Gilligan,
my name is Veronica Guerin.
514
00:34:48,560 --> 00:34:50,640
I'd like to ask you some questions.
515
00:34:50,640 --> 00:34:52,680
I know who you are.
516
00:34:52,680 --> 00:34:55,640
You've some balls in ya
coming to my house,
517
00:34:55,640 --> 00:34:57,680
you nosey fucking bitch!
518
00:35:11,320 --> 00:35:15,840
I was in the office
when she came back from Jessbrook.
519
00:35:15,840 --> 00:35:18,760
She was in a pretty bad state.
520
00:35:18,760 --> 00:35:20,920
We got her to go to hospital.
521
00:35:20,920 --> 00:35:24,840
And she was very shook up,
her clothes were torn.
522
00:35:24,840 --> 00:35:27,440
She was beaten black and blue.
523
00:35:27,440 --> 00:35:29,600
I mean, I saw the bruises.
524
00:35:30,760 --> 00:35:33,000
He punched her in the head,
525
00:35:33,000 --> 00:35:35,760
he punched her in the stomach,
punched her in the breasts,
526
00:35:35,760 --> 00:35:37,800
and rained down threats
527
00:35:37,800 --> 00:35:42,120
that he would "fucking kill
everybody in her family."
528
00:35:43,000 --> 00:35:45,160
She made a statement to the Guards
529
00:35:45,160 --> 00:35:47,680
and wanted
to press charges against him.
530
00:35:48,720 --> 00:35:51,960
But she just for the first time, I
think, really understood
531
00:35:51,960 --> 00:35:54,560
the dangers of what she was doing.
532
00:35:54,560 --> 00:35:58,120
And everybody around her was kind of saying,
533
00:35:58,120 --> 00:36:01,120
"Yeah, look, maybe it is time
to get out of it."!
534
00:36:02,200 --> 00:36:05,480
But she wanted to see this through.
535
00:36:06,240 --> 00:36:08,240
You know, she had a mission.
536
00:36:10,360 --> 00:36:14,840
'The past 12 months have brought us
images we might have expected to see
537
00:36:14,840 --> 00:36:18,920
only in reportage from America's
down-at-heel ghettos
538
00:36:18,920 --> 00:36:21,840
or the drug-riddled streets
of Colombia.
539
00:36:21,840 --> 00:36:25,600
In 1995...it happened here.
540
00:36:26,920 --> 00:36:30,840
As 1996 begins, has the Irish underworld
541
00:36:30,840 --> 00:36:33,920
taken another step towards
its ultimate goal
542
00:36:33,920 --> 00:36:37,200
of becoming the new untouchables?'
543
00:36:40,280 --> 00:36:43,360
The media
were poking a hornet's nest.
544
00:36:46,120 --> 00:36:48,160
Once you got to the Sunday papers,
545
00:36:48,160 --> 00:36:51,080
your career...
you're over, you're finished.
546
00:36:51,080 --> 00:36:55,080
That's the last thing you want
is that kind of attention.
547
00:36:58,960 --> 00:37:01,920
At that time,
you're looking over your shoulder
548
00:37:01,920 --> 00:37:03,640
for the police all the time.
549
00:37:05,000 --> 00:37:06,840
They'd raid the house.
550
00:37:08,040 --> 00:37:10,400
They'd be hoping I'd have drugs
on me
551
00:37:10,400 --> 00:37:12,960
or I'd have a weapon on me or something.
552
00:37:12,960 --> 00:37:16,640
So they bring me in and he'd hold me
for as long as they could.
553
00:37:17,800 --> 00:37:21,600
But because they couldn't charge
you, they were pissed off.
554
00:37:21,600 --> 00:37:24,520
They'd make life
really awkward for ya.
555
00:37:25,920 --> 00:37:30,040
At that point, if I coulda checked
out, I woulda checked out.
556
00:37:30,040 --> 00:37:33,000
I would have just cashed in and
just... you know what I mean,
557
00:37:33,000 --> 00:37:35,040
lived the simple life.
558
00:37:37,160 --> 00:37:40,000
At the time that Veronica
was writing in the papers,
559
00:37:40,000 --> 00:37:42,480
we were working very hard
behind the scenes,
560
00:37:42,480 --> 00:37:46,680
looking at the money trail
and the Gilligan empire.
561
00:37:46,680 --> 00:37:49,360
We could clearly see that there was
a lot of money
562
00:37:49,360 --> 00:37:51,440
coming in from the casinos in Europe,
563
00:37:51,440 --> 00:37:55,160
and John Gilligan and his associates
were claiming
564
00:37:55,160 --> 00:37:58,280
that they had won their money
from betting.
565
00:37:58,280 --> 00:38:02,680
So I and one of my colleagues
who worked in the drugs field,
566
00:38:02,680 --> 00:38:08,560
we both went to Holland...
to look at these casinos...
567
00:38:09,520 --> 00:38:10,840
...and we realised that
568
00:38:10,840 --> 00:38:13,520
there was a lot of money lodged
to the casinos,
569
00:38:13,520 --> 00:38:17,520
lodged in cash,
but they weren't winning.
570
00:38:18,400 --> 00:38:21,520
The money was just being passed to
the casinos in Europe
571
00:38:21,520 --> 00:38:24,320
and then coming back into the
banking system.
572
00:38:26,560 --> 00:38:29,040
So we knew that the money smelled.
573
00:38:29,040 --> 00:38:31,720
We could see that it was moving
through channels
574
00:38:31,720 --> 00:38:33,360
in order to legitimise us,
575
00:38:33,360 --> 00:38:36,440
but we still couldn't link it back
to crime.
576
00:38:40,800 --> 00:38:43,840
It was clear that the police needed
new legislation
577
00:38:43,840 --> 00:38:45,880
to deal with the proceeds of crime.
578
00:38:46,920 --> 00:38:51,840
And Veronica Guerin at the time
was turning a light on all of this.
579
00:38:52,720 --> 00:38:58,600
The extent of the crime in Dublin
City particularly is just alarming.
580
00:38:58,600 --> 00:39:03,640
And the the inability of the Guards,
because of the legislation,
581
00:39:03,640 --> 00:39:07,160
to really do anything about it is...
582
00:39:07,160 --> 00:39:09,800
is something
that has to be publicised.
583
00:39:09,800 --> 00:39:13,760
When we do it, we're effectively
bringing pressure onto the criminals
584
00:39:13,760 --> 00:39:15,800
and they just don't like it.
585
00:39:38,240 --> 00:39:40,520
Would you hurry up, ya slow cunt.
586
00:39:40,520 --> 00:39:42,560
Let's get it done.
587
00:40:05,800 --> 00:40:08,560
I was in the office of the
Sunday Independent
588
00:40:08,560 --> 00:40:12,440
and the news editor called from the
desk and said,
589
00:40:12,440 --> 00:40:14,840
"I'm putting Veronica onto you."
590
00:40:14,840 --> 00:40:18,200
- No, no, I bet. That's great.
- I knew
she had been up in court,
591
00:40:18,200 --> 00:40:22,800
answering, unsurprisingly, a gaggle
of speeding fines,
592
00:40:22,800 --> 00:40:27,080
and she was fairly sure that
they might take her licence away.
593
00:40:31,560 --> 00:40:34,600
Yeah, the hearing went OK.
I didn't get banned.
594
00:40:39,240 --> 00:40:43,040
She was returning to Dublin and we
said we'd see her for a coffee.
595
00:40:43,040 --> 00:40:44,880
OK, bye.
596
00:41:19,120 --> 00:41:23,880
I went out to lunch and I was
returning to the office to meet her,
597
00:41:23,880 --> 00:41:26,160
but I saw a crowd
around the newsstand.
598
00:41:26,160 --> 00:41:28,240
And there was just a headline on it.
599
00:41:28,240 --> 00:41:30,440
And it had
"Veronica Guerin shot dead".
600
00:41:30,440 --> 00:41:32,880
So I think I just went numb.
601
00:41:34,920 --> 00:41:36,840
Veronica Guerin was shot to death
602
00:41:36,840 --> 00:41:39,840
on the dual carriageway
on the outskirts of Dublin,
603
00:41:39,840 --> 00:41:41,920
a murder believed to have been commissioned
604
00:41:41,920 --> 00:41:44,560
by a major Dublin criminal and
carried out
605
00:41:44,560 --> 00:41:46,480
by two gunmen on a motorcycle.
606
00:41:48,160 --> 00:41:51,920
I remember poor Lise Hand
screaming in anguish.
607
00:41:52,560 --> 00:41:56,880
Nobody could believe that this...
could happen.
608
00:41:59,320 --> 00:42:04,080
It was a watershed moment
in kind of Irish life.
609
00:42:04,920 --> 00:42:08,720
It was the murder of a young
mother and a journalist,
610
00:42:08,720 --> 00:42:14,400
but it was also a direct challenge
to civil society and to the state
611
00:42:18,480 --> 00:42:21,720
"One o'clock exactly,
work stopped at factories, shops,
612
00:42:21,720 --> 00:42:23,840
offices and on the streets.
613
00:42:25,400 --> 00:42:28,360
Gardia of all ranks also stood in silence,
614
00:42:28,360 --> 00:42:31,440
as did officials in banking houses
around the country.
615
00:42:33,360 --> 00:42:36,800
The saddest place
was Independent House in Dublin."
616
00:42:44,120 --> 00:42:47,560
We lost our innocence, I think,
to a certain extent that day.
617
00:42:47,560 --> 00:42:51,760
The sort of rosy image we had that
Ireland was all good and all safe
618
00:42:51,760 --> 00:42:56,080
and not that many bad people lived
here, you know, it was shattered.
619
00:42:57,520 --> 00:43:02,440
We kinda went from being naive
to, "This shit's real."
620
00:43:03,360 --> 00:43:06,920
This is really real. Someone
like Veronica Guerin
621
00:43:06,920 --> 00:43:09,080
is... disposable.
622
00:43:10,960 --> 00:43:14,400
That's the front page the Sunday
after Veronica was assassinated.
623
00:43:14,400 --> 00:43:16,680
Her young son
looking into the grave.
624
00:43:16,680 --> 00:43:19,160
He was only six years of age at
the time.
625
00:43:19,160 --> 00:43:20,880
And then at the top here's,
626
00:43:20,880 --> 00:43:24,600
"John Gilligan admits:
'I'm the prime suspect.'
627
00:43:24,600 --> 00:43:27,360
Turn to pages four and five.
628
00:43:27,360 --> 00:43:30,040
Face to face with Factory John.
'I didn't do it,'
629
00:43:30,040 --> 00:43:32,440
he tells our crime reporter."
630
00:43:34,880 --> 00:43:37,840
I think the politicians being
exposed to that raw grief,
631
00:43:37,840 --> 00:43:42,240
they just realised what they did in
the aftermath would be remembered.
632
00:43:43,720 --> 00:43:49,800
- Nobody is untouchable.
- And let us
freeze the assets of the drug barons
633
00:43:49,800 --> 00:43:51,840
who are known to us all.
634
00:43:52,800 --> 00:43:55,280
The authorities realised
that they needed
635
00:43:55,280 --> 00:43:58,440
to hit the criminal fraternity where
it hurt the most,
636
00:43:58,440 --> 00:44:01,920
that's by taking away
the proceeds of crime.
637
00:44:01,920 --> 00:44:06,160
And that led to the establishment
of the Criminal Assets Bureau.
638
00:44:08,080 --> 00:44:12,760
We came together and worked
with the Minister for Justice,
639
00:44:12,760 --> 00:44:15,800
and the burden of proof changed.
640
00:44:16,720 --> 00:44:19,960
So if there's no visible sign of income,
641
00:44:19,960 --> 00:44:21,600
then Criminal Assets Bureau
642
00:44:21,600 --> 00:44:24,320
were able to seize the properties
and the money.
643
00:44:24,320 --> 00:44:28,080
And Jessbrook was one of the first
cases that was taken to the courts
644
00:44:28,080 --> 00:44:30,480
and where the property was seized.
645
00:44:30,480 --> 00:44:34,760
Not only will we deprive you
of your liberty...
646
00:44:35,840 --> 00:44:39,880
...but we will also take
all of your ill-gotten gains
647
00:44:39,880 --> 00:44:41,680
off of you for good.
648
00:44:41,680 --> 00:44:45,680
The people they couldn't
get at before, they could now.
649
00:44:45,680 --> 00:44:48,040
If a criminal
put an extension on his house,
650
00:44:48,040 --> 00:44:51,760
where did he get the money?
Unexplainable? Take the house...
651
00:44:52,560 --> 00:44:55,120
...the cars, the watches. Incredible.
652
00:44:55,120 --> 00:44:58,520
A guy with a Rolex one time
was coming through the airport,
653
00:44:58,520 --> 00:45:01,120
they just, "Come here. Thank you."
654
00:45:01,120 --> 00:45:04,880
And that was it, like,
15 grand gone, you know.
655
00:45:04,880 --> 00:45:08,400
It made the opposition's team
a lot stronger.
656
00:45:08,400 --> 00:45:13,760
It was like League of Ireland
playing the Galacticos with Messi,
657
00:45:13,760 --> 00:45:16,920
and they brought back fucking Pele
from the dead.
658
00:45:16,920 --> 00:45:19,600
They'd rush in brand new laws.
659
00:45:20,080 --> 00:45:22,920
More Guards, more cars.
660
00:45:24,200 --> 00:45:26,600
The Criminal Assets Bureau,
661
00:45:26,600 --> 00:45:29,640
which every criminal on the planet
now has to deal with,
662
00:45:29,640 --> 00:45:33,120
because the Irish model
is now every-fucking-where.
663
00:45:39,800 --> 00:45:42,560
Immediately after, some of the
members of the Gilligan gang
664
00:45:42,560 --> 00:45:45,080
basically went on the run.
Costa del Sol
665
00:45:45,080 --> 00:45:47,160
was their favourite spots,
666
00:45:47,160 --> 00:45:49,160
so we went after them.
667
00:45:49,160 --> 00:45:52,400
Unfortunately, we always seemed
to be one step behind them,
668
00:45:52,400 --> 00:45:54,440
in one case missing 'em by hours.
669
00:45:55,320 --> 00:45:59,760
But they'd been in a nightclub and
broke it up and legs of a deejay
670
00:45:59,760 --> 00:46:02,360
that wouldn't play their music or
something ridiculous.
671
00:46:02,360 --> 00:46:03,760
They were that violent.
672
00:46:03,760 --> 00:46:07,000
And they were using the cocaine
themselves at that stage?
673
00:46:08,320 --> 00:46:11,400
But eventually
the Gilligan gang was arrested.
674
00:46:15,480 --> 00:46:19,600
This is John Gilligan being
extradited back from the UK.
675
00:46:19,600 --> 00:46:22,760
They decided to leave their Belmarsh
prison uniform on,
676
00:46:22,760 --> 00:46:24,960
mainly as sort of an embarrassment.
677
00:46:27,160 --> 00:46:29,880
He was charged with the murder
of Veronica Guerin,
678
00:46:29,880 --> 00:46:34,120
and with drug importation,
of which he initially got 28 years,
679
00:46:34,120 --> 00:46:36,160
which was reduced on appeal.
680
00:46:36,160 --> 00:46:40,000
But he was found not guilty
of the murder of Veronica Guerin.
681
00:46:46,280 --> 00:46:48,920
Detectives investigating the murder
of Veronica Guerin
682
00:46:48,920 --> 00:46:51,920
brought Meehan back to Dublin from
the Netherlands.
683
00:46:52,960 --> 00:46:57,080
Brian Meehan was convicted
of the murder of Veronica Guerin...
684
00:46:57,080 --> 00:47:01,400
for driving the bike...
on that fatal day.
685
00:47:02,880 --> 00:47:07,280
In total, he has served 24 years
in prison for the murder.
686
00:47:07,280 --> 00:47:11,280
No one... to this day
has ever been convicted
687
00:47:11,280 --> 00:47:14,240
of actually pulling the trigger
that killed Veronica.
688
00:47:21,160 --> 00:47:23,160
It'd be lovely to say, you know,
689
00:47:23,160 --> 00:47:26,400
this sad story does have a happy
ending. All the criminals went away
690
00:47:26,400 --> 00:47:28,520
and never came back.
691
00:47:28,520 --> 00:47:31,640
Drugs all left the country.
692
00:47:32,680 --> 00:47:35,720
But, of course, you know, that never
is going to happen.
693
00:47:35,720 --> 00:47:38,520
Where does all this end?
694
00:47:38,520 --> 00:47:40,560
It doesn't bleeding end.
695
00:47:40,560 --> 00:47:43,520
Coke, heroin, ecstasy,
696
00:47:43,520 --> 00:47:45,560
just pick your medicine.
697
00:47:45,560 --> 00:47:50,520
As long as people demand drugs...
smugglers'll smuggle them...
698
00:47:51,840 --> 00:47:53,840
...dealers'll deal them...
699
00:47:56,240 --> 00:47:58,640
...and the Guards'll keep
on investigating
700
00:47:58,640 --> 00:48:00,800
and arresting people.
701
00:48:00,800 --> 00:48:04,120
And it rolls on, business as usual.
702
00:49:07,440 --> 00:49:11,720
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