Convicted drug dealer John Gilligan has been fined and given a suspended sentence by a Spanish judge after admitting smuggling cannabis and sleeping pills into Ireland and being in possession of a weapon.
Eight people, including John Gilligan and his son Darren Gilligan, appeared before Torrevieja's Criminal Court Number Two.
The trial had been expected to last three days.
Lawyers acting for John Gilligan confirmed a plea bargain deal had been agreed with prosecutors.
Prosecutors had initially demanded a jail sentence totalling six years for John Gilligan for smuggling cannabis and powerful sleeping pills from Spain to Ireland inside consignments of toys and flip-flops.
In a pre-trial indictment they said they wanted a jail sentence of 18 months over the gun, which Spanish police described as a rare Colt Python -357 Magnum.
Gilligan received a suspended prison sentence of 22 months as part of the plea bargain deal - nine months for the cannabis charge, nine months for illegal possession of a firearm and four months for exporting prescription-only drugs without licence.
Prosecutor Carmen Millan said his confession the gun was his after his arrest in 2020 was a "mitigating factor" in the sentence he had received.
He was the first of the eight defendants present in court to take the stand and confirmed he was pleading guilty to the three charges still standing in return for a suspended prison sentence and fines totalling just over €14,000.
Asked by the judge if he accepted the deal, he replied in English through a translator: "Yes, I agree. Yes I am guilty."
The other defendants proceeded to take the stand one by one and confirmed they understood and accepted the deal they had been offered.
Darren Gilligan was the only person brought to court in custody following his arrest in Ireland earlier this year and subsequent extradition.
He is due to be released from a prison in Alicante and is expected to return to Ireland.
John Gilligan left court without making any comment.
