12 years jail for drugs and money laundering

16 Oct 2006 09:15 AM

Two men from Kent and one from Oxford are today serving a total of 12 years imprisonment after being found guilty on Friday 13th October 2006 at Canterbury Crown Court of money laundering and conspiracy to import drugs.

Simon Fisher, 39, from Folkestone was found guilty for conspiracy to import cannabis, Thomas Little, 24, from Oxford for money laundering and Paul Phipps, 27, from Deal for conspiracy to import cannabis and money laundering.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) spokesperson Chris Ballard said "HMRC is working at the forefront of the fight to stop drugs entering the UK and to reduce the associated harm to our communities. The seizure of cash by HMRC officers and the subsequent investigation and conviction of these individuals has kept a substantial amount of drugs off the streets".

Investigations conducted by HMRC linked all three men arranging a flight of light aircraft flying low over Lyminge Forest in Kent to establish the feasibility of dropping packages of drugs for future collection.

Some weeks later the same light aircraft was intercepted in Belgium and the pilot arrested whilst in possession of approximately 60 kilograms of cannabis. The pilot was later successfully prosecuted in Belgium.

Large sums of cash approximately £815,000 was discovered at addresses connected to Phipps and Little.

This case was successfully prosecuted by the Revenue & Customs Prosecutions Office (RCPO). RCPO is an independent prosecuting authority that reports to the Attorney General and is responsible for the prosecution of all HMRC cases.

Notes to Editors:

1. Simon Fisher, (DOB 22/3/67) of Brook Cottage, Canterbury Road, Lyminge, Folkestone, Kent, 7 years imprisonment for conspiracy to import cannabis.

2. Paul Lee Phipps, (DOB 4/4/79) of The Groom Quarters, Hull Place, Sholden, DEAL, Kent, 5 years imprisonment for conspiracy and 12 months each for the 3 charges of money laundering, all to run consecutively.

3. Thomas Henry Peter Little, (DOB 17/3/82 of Flat 2, White Lodge, Osler Road, Headington, Oxford, 51weeks imprisonment suspended for 12 months and 250 hours of community service.

4. The Revenue & Customs Prosecutions Office (RCPO) was created by Royal Assent on 7 April 2005. An independent prosecuting authority, RCPO reports directly to the Attorney General, and is responsible for prosecuting all HMRC cases.

5. The Proceeds of Crime Act received Royal assent on 24 July 2002. The provisions relating to seizure, detection and forfeiture of cash came into effect on 30 December 2002. The Act superseded the existing powers to seize drugs related cash at the borders and extended the provisions to allow cash suspected to be related to ANY crime to be seized both at the border and inland. Furthermore, an amalgamation of other legislation in force at the time removed the distinction between drugs and non-drugs money laundering offences.

Website www.hmrc.gov.uk