Sentencing delayed for pilot convicted over 120kg Midlands cocaine flight
Tom Tuite
The sentence hearing for a pilot of a light aircraft who flew €8.4 million of cocaine into the Midlands from France in 2022 has been moved back until December.
Polish national Michal Luczak, 44, described by the prosecution as a vital asset, irreplaceable, and “key to the success” of the smuggling plot, was due to appear for sentencing before Judge Roderick Maguire at Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court on Monday.
However, it was adjourned and will now take place on December 8th.
Following a three-week trial last month, he was convicted by a jury for his role in the drug importation operation.
The 120-kilo cocaine seizure was the result of a Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau-led (GNDOCB) investigation and covert surveillance at Abbeyshrule Aerodrome, Co Longford, on August 4th, 2022.
The Cessna pilot had pleaded not guilty to unlawful possession of the cocaine, possessing it for the purpose of sale or supply, and the possession and importation of drugs worth €13,000 or more.
Described as a passionate flyer, the court heard the father-of-two worked in transport and had studied law in Poland.
The defence centred on Luczak’s claim that he wanted to get as much flying practice as possible to become a commercial pilot. And he often brought his friend, Timothy Gilchrist, who was interested in flying and travelled as a passenger.
Gilchrist, jailed last year for 11 years, took responsibility for collecting the drugs. He testified that he had been threatened and that he alone loaded the five cocaine-filled sports bags and a suitcase onto the plane in Dieppe.
He also maintained that he later unloaded them at Abbeyshrule Aerodrome, and that Luczak knew nothing about the drugs in the baggage at any stage.
However, on October 28th, the four women and eight men of the jury returned unanimous guilty verdicts on all charges, after three hours and 16 minutes of deliberations.
The court can consider a life sentence or a mandatory minimum 10-year prison term.
Earlier, the prosecution argued that said Luczak would have been a “wildcard” risk to a criminal organisation if he had not known what the four-seater aircraft was carrying.
The trial involved more than 50 witnesses: officers in the GNDOCB, the Garda National surveillance unit, named in the trial only by their initials; the scenes of crime unit and mapping section; Garda HQ; and civilians, as well as personnel from Forensic Science Ireland and the Irish Aviation Authority.
Evidence was given that a Cessna 182 aircraft, owned by eight shareholders, including Luczak, left Abbeyshrule Aerodrome bound for Le Touquet Airport in France on August 3rd, 2022.
Luczak was accompanied by Timothy Gilchrist, and the pair stayed overnight before flying to Dieppe airport, also in France, the next day.
Jurors heard that the aircraft returned with the 120 kilos of cocaine. A “spotter” on the ground at the aerodrome, who had been in communication with Gilchrist, also had the pilot’s phone number.
A garda surveillance operation had been put in place at Abbeyshrule Aerodrome, where the Cessna was unloaded. All six bags were put in Gilchrist’s Alfa Romeo car and driven away before Gilchrist was stopped by gardaí at Lough Owel outside of Mullingar, Co Westmeath.
Luczak, formerly of Primrose Avenue, Jigginstown, Naas, Co Kildare, and recently residing in Dublin 12, left the aerodrome in a black Mercedes car. He was stopped and arrested by gardaí at Collinstown, Co Westmeath.
Father-of-one Timothy Gilchrist, 57, of Mavis Bank, Newrath, Co Kilkenny, was jailed for 11 years in 2024 for his part in bringing the huge drugs haul into the State.
