The sentencing at Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court has been moved to July 27th.
The sentencing of a pilot for flying cocaine worth €8.4m into the Midlands from France almost four years ago has been adjourned until July to allow him to brief his new legal team.
Michal Luczak, 44, described as a vital asset, irreplaceable, and "key to the success" of the smuggling plot involving a Cessna light aircraft, appeared again before Judge Roderick Maguire at Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court.
In March, the court heard that he had parted with his lawyers who had acted for him at his trial in October.
When the case resumed on Monday, Judge Maguire noted Luczak had found new representation.
He acceded to their request to adjourn the next stage, for the hearing of facts and a mitigation plea, to July 20, and sentencing on July 27 next.
Earlier, Luczak had told the court he was waiting for his criminal record from Poland to be sent over, which he hoped would help his case.
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 4, 2022.
The Cessna pilot had pleaded not guilty to unlawful possession of the cocaine, possessing it for 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 a friend, Timothy Gilchrist, who was interested in flying and travelled as a passenger.
Gilchrist, jailed previously, 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 28, 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 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.
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 3, 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 team was in place at Abbeyshrule Aerodrome, where the single-engined Cessna was unloaded.
Gilchrist placed the six bags into his Alfa Romeo and drove away before he was stopped by gardaí at Lough Owel outside of Mullingar, Co. Westmeath.
Luczak, formerly of Primrose Avenue, Jigginstown, Naas, Co. Kildare, who was recently residing in Dublin 12, left the aerodrome in a black Mercedes.
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.
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