John Gilligan imported tens of millions worth of cannabis into Ireland in the 1990s as one of the country s leading drug dealers.
But now the one-time kingpin stands accused of operating as a small-time sleeping tablet hustler, selling marijuana and prescription pills to desperate addicts.
The Dublin criminal, who has based himself in Spain after several attempts on his life in Ireland, is no longer the big time player he was before the murder of Sunday Independent journalist Veronica Guerin.
When Spanish cops raided his house in Alicante in October they found four kilos of cannabis and 11,000 Zimovane (zopiclone) tablets as well as a firearm.