11 years in prison for Waterford pilot involved in €8.4m cocaine smuggling

A Walter Mitty-type figure who played a “significant logistical role” in smuggling €8.4m worth of cocaine into Ireland via an “open corridor airport” in the midlands has been sentenced to 11 years in prison.

Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (GNDOCB) officers observed a single-engine Cessna aircraft flying from Dieppe, France, as it landed at Abbeyshrule Airport, Co Longford, on the evening of 4 August 2022.

Shortly afterwards they arrested father-of-one Tim Gilchrist who was ‘caught red-handed’ in Lough Owel, Irishtown, Co Westmeath, with 120kg of cocaine in his car.

Gilchrist, 56, of Mavis Bank in Newrath, Co Waterford, who was wearing a green T-shirt, grey tracksuit bottoms and running shoes, showed no reaction as the sentence was passed.

He pleaded guilty at Mullingar District Court to possessing drugs worth €13,000 or more for sale or supply in Lough Owel on the date of his arrest. He also admitted illegally importing cocaine on an aircraft.

The prosecution heard evidence on Tuesday and the case was adjourned until yesterday, when Judge Keenan Johnson sentenced him to 11 and a half years in prison, six months of which were suspended.

He expressed concern over the issue of “open corridor” airports, calling for increased security, 24-hour monitoring and control.

The judge noted a significant degree of planning and an “active and important logistical role” by Gilchrist. He found the defendant did it for financial gain.

The sentence was backdated to August 4, 2020, when he was remanded in custody. Judge Johnson set the header at 16 years and six months, but said the sentences could be reduced due to the guilty pleas, information obtained in mitigation and the lack of previous convictions.

The court heard testimony from Gilchrist, who used the Cessna for “leisure” flights, who claimed he was coerced by two men who threatened him.

However, Detective Sergeant Ciaran Cummins, of the GNDOCB, described Gilchrist’s version of events as “fantastic”. He agreed with prosecutor John Hayden BL that the investigation was prompted by information that the Cessna was carrying controlled drugs into the jurisdiction.

GNDOCB organised an operation at Abbeyshrule Airport. The Cessna carrying the two men landed at 17:25 and the bags were removed from the aircraft.

Gilchrist, driving a 2009 Alfa Romeo, was stopped by police near Lough Owel.

They searched the car and found five black handbags and a suitcase in the boot containing 120kg of cocaine worth 8.4 million euros, the court was told.

Officers arrested Gilchrist and questioned him at Ashbourne Police Station, where he admitted possessing the drugs, “gave a story about how he got involved” and “put his hands up”.

Recalling his statement, Mr Hayden said Gilchrist told police: “Two men came to my house late one night, about a month ago, and said, ‘You’re on a plane, we’ve seen you. You’re going to do something for us.’” He claimed he was told “if I don’t do this I’ll have another problem.” He claimed he said, “I’m going to the guards” – but claimed one man threatened his daughter.

He said they told him to buy a mobile phone, saying he had no choice but to fly to Dieppe, and he was given €4,000 to fund the journey. Det Sgt Cummins agreed the investigation did not confirm the series of events described by Gilchrist.

The flight lasted three and a half hours with no customs officers at Dieppe Airport, where the plane spent only a short time. The GNDOCB officer agreed with Mr Justice Johnson that the procedures at Abbeyshrule were the same, making it a “completely open corridor”.

He said there were spot checks, but generally flights were logged and pilots had to declare their journeys. The judge described this as “extraordinary”.

Gilchrist had been in Dieppe for 24 hours. When he was caught, he had his personal phone and another with just two contacts; the latter had been purchased “solely for communications for import purposes”.

He admitted it was his main phone for contacting people, not for court. Bought in June 2022, it was unused until August 3, when he flew to France.

Phone analysis showed Gilchrist had been sending and receiving messages to people around Longford Airport shortly before landing, with one saying: “Lots of guys around here, watch out.”

Gardaí also recovered bills for a hotel in France and fuel for the plane. Gilchrist claimed he had helped the plane’s pilot build up flight hours and the court heard there were six known flights. The court heard he had worked in Ireland for a road maintenance company from 2017 to 2020, after which he received €208 a week in sick pay.

Sgt Cummins agreed with prosecutor Michael O’Higgins, defending, that his client’s guilty plea was valuable.

In mitigation, Mr O’Higgins said his client had one child and lived in a very modest home which he had inherited and that there was nothing about it to suggest he led a lavish lifestyle.

Mr O’Higgins said his client had the air of a “Walter Mitty-type character” and asked the judge to stress that there was always a hierarchy in such cases, adding: “People who own drugs have extra protections.”

He also asked the judge to take into account the fact that his client was remorseful and ashamed; Gilchrist had never applied for bail and had been held in pretrial detention since his arrest.