Gilligan shot with bullets stolen from German federal police in 2004.
Gardai investigating the botched hit attempt on former crime lord John Gilligan have discovered that the ammunition used to shoot him was stolen from German police a decade ago.
Sundayworld.com can reveal that detectives have recovered five shell casings from the house where the 61-year-old was shot four times earlier this month.
Two casings were found outside his brother-in-law’s house on Greenfort Crescent in Clondalkin while a further three were discovered inside the house.
A forensic examination has determined that the ammunition was 9mm Sintox brand and was fired from a Czech-manufactured CZ 75 semi-automatic pistol.
The ammo has been matched to a batch of Sintox 9mm that was stolen from German federal police in 2004.
Detectives believe this is a significant breakthrough because it means that the gun and stolen ammunition was probably imported to Ireland from continental Europe, most likely Spain.
This gives credence to the theory that the Christy Kinahan gang was behind organising the murder bid and brought the gun into Ireland with a drugs shipment.
Significantly, the CZ 75 used in the attempted murder was the same make of the weapon that was discarded by a gunman after he went to a pub on the Navan Road in December looking for Gilligan only to target the wrong boozer.
This has convinced investigators that not only was the same gang responsible for importing the firearms into Ireland but that the same gunmen were behind both attempts on the life of the pint-sized mobster.
The prime suspect in the first incident at the Halfway House last December is a 34-year-old from Ballymun in Dublin. Gilligan is convinced he was responsible and that he accepted a €20,000 contract put up by the Kinahan mob.
A masked guman went into the halfway house shouting “where’s Gilligan” only for his target to be actually in the nearby Hole in the Wall pub.
Gardai chased the gunman who made his escape on a high-powered motorbike and threw the Czech weapon away before disappearing.
They wanted rid of Gilligan because he had been demanding money with menaces from several serious criminals and was proving a nuisance who would not take the message to back-off.
The approval for the hit came from the highest echelons of the Kinahan gang and gardai fear it is only a matter of time before somebody comes to finish the job.
Gilligan is still being treated in a private room at Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown and is expected to be released next week.
Armed gardai continue to patrol the hospital to prevent a further hit attempt.
Gilligan has been spoken to by gardai but has refused to cooperate with the investigation. Sources say that gardai are making slow progress and aside from the information about the ammunition have not determined exactly who the two gunmen were who burst into the house and shot Gilligan in the legs and chest, with another bullet grazing his head.
The CZ 75 is regarded as being a very dependable weapon that is shorter and more compact than other 9mm pistols. It weighs around 2 pounds unloaded and its magazine can carry 14 rounds.
A source said: “The fact that the ammunition originated from a batch stolen by a foreign police force shows you that the gun and bullets were sourced by absolute professionals.
“Now the same can’t be said for the shooter but he was given a state of the art weapon with decent ammunition but still managed to botch the job. We are nearly certain Kinahan’s gang sent the weapon but are still trying to fill in the other blanks.
“This is very much a live investigation and the fact that the victim is not cooperating is not helping us to be honest. It’s in his interest to play ball with us because he knows that whoever is behind this will most likely come back to finish him off”.
