Protected witness Charles Bowden told the Veronica Guerin murder trial in the Special Criminal Court yesterday that he loaded a gun used in the attempted murder of Dublin criminal Martin Foley five years ago.
Bowden said he was in a house listening to Garda messages on a scanner on the day Paul Ward and Brian Meehan carried out the shooting in February, 1996. He was not concerned he would be charged with the attempted murder.
"The primary charge I was worried about was the murder (of Veronica Guerin) charge." Bowden also said he put the gun back in a grave at a Jewish cemetery after the Foley shooting.
Bowden was shown figures worked out by the defence based on his own and other evidence on profits made by the drugs gang over a two-year period.
Defence counsel Mr Michael O'Higgins SC put it to him that his profit share would have ranged from a minimum £355,000 to a maximum £888,000 and that this was "an awful lot of money".
Bowden replied: "It certainly is." Asked where the money was now, Bowden replied: "I never got it." Earlier Bowden said he was "very apprehensive" about being charged with the murder of Veronica Guerin after he made statements to gardai. Bowden said he had minimised his involvement in the murder when he initially made statements to gardai in 1996.
He said he asked Det Garda Bernie Hanley on a number of occasions about being charged with murder when he met him in the Phoenix Park and other places. "Every time I asked the question whether I would be charged with murder or not, I was told it wasn't their decision. I hoped to reap the benefits of having co-operated with the gardai in any charges that would be brought against me."
Det Garda Hanley refused to return his calls and he fled to England, where he was arrested in March, 1997.
It was the 20th day of the trial of Mr John Gilligan (48) who has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Veronica Guerin on June 26th, 1996.