THUG GILLIGAN SNEAKS OFF TO THE SUN
» Ex-gangster boss jets out from Belfast » He falls asleep on flight to holiday spot » No luggage and is whisked away in car
TINY former crook John Gilligan jetted out to the Spanish sun – and went through Belfast in a bid to remain anonymous.
The hated one-time gang boss – whose henchmen shot dead brave journalist Veronica Guerin – flew to Alicante on Friday evening.
Gilligan, 66, dozed off on the 4.20pm service from Belfast International Airport. A source said: “He looked like he hadn’t a care in the world as he slept like a baby on the flight.
“He was sitting beside a man who had a scar over his left eye.
“He strolled off the plane without luggage and didn’t go to the carousel to pick up any bags.”
THIS is pint-sized thug John Gilligan sleeping like a baby as he jetted off to the Spanish sun.
The former mob boss, whose drug gang murdered journalist Veronica Guerin in 1996, flew out to Alicante with another man on Friday.
Gilligan, 66, dozed off on the 4.20pm flight from Belfast International Airport to the popular Spanish destination.
He has been moving between Ireland, England and Spain in a bid to avoid detection from old enemies – and to stay under the radar.
The one-time drug lord was travelling light with only the clothes on his back. He had no hand luggage and went straight through without collecting bags at the carousel.
And he made sure he had his wits about him when he arrived in Spain by refusing alcoholic drinks on the flight, opting for water and snacks.
He was accompanied at all times by his minder who shepherded him through arrivals and into a waiting car.
A source told the Irish Sunday Mirror: “He wore his usual blazer with an open-neck shirt. He looked like he hadn’t a care in the world as he slept like a baby.
STROLLED
“He was sitting beside a man who had a scar over his left eye for the duration. He strolled off the plane without luggage and didn’t pick any up.”
It’s understood he flew out of Belfast rather than Dublin to avoid being spotted – he is a hate figure in the Republic ever since the murder of Guerin.
The pictures come just weeks after the Irish Mirror revealed Gilligan is back socialising on his old Dublin stomping ground – despite a previous bid on his life there.
The former gang boss was spotted back in Clondalkin, West Dublin, in the company of an English woman.
On that occasion the swaggering thug seemed carefree even though he was shot from a short distance away four years ago.
Gilligan was freed from Portlaoise maximum security prison on October 15, 2013, after serving more than 17 years of a 20-year sentence and had been living in Co Roscommon.
He had been moving between a rented property and houses in Clondalkin, Lucan and Ballyfermot, and an address in England. And now Spain.
His recent outings are the first in months as he had been keeping a low profile. news@irishmirror.ie
KILLED Veronica Guerin was 37
He looked like he had not a care in the world as he slept like a baby SOURCE ALICANTE YESTERDAY