REVENUE & CUSTOMS
PROSECUTION OFFICE News Release (07/013) issued by The Government
News Network on 23 November 2007
Three men and a
woman were jailed for a total of 32 and a half years at Liverpool
Crown Court today for conspiracy to supply heroin, following a
successful prosecution conducted by Revenue and Customs
Prosecutions Office (RCPO) on behalf of the Serious Organised
Crime Agency (SOCA).
Michael Fairhurst, John Joseph Fitzgibbon, Richard Ford and Donna
Birch all pleaded guilty to charges including conspiracy to supply
a controlled drug, possession of a controlled drug, possession of
a controlled drug with intent to supply and converting criminal
property. Fitzgibbon was sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment.
He had also pleaded guilty to an earlier charge of cultivating and
supplying cannabis, for which he was sentenced to 18 months'
imprisonment to be served consecutively. Ford and Fairhurst both
acted as warehousemen in the operation, and were sentenced to
seven years and nine and a half years respectively. Fairhurst also
pleaded guilty to the charge of cultivating and supplying
cannabis, and received a sentence of 18 months imprisonment, to be
served consecutively. The prosecution conceded that Donna Birch
was the least involved of the four defendants. She was sentenced
to one year in prison.
The SOCA investigation was codenamed Operation Apron. In March
2007 a car occupied by Fairhurst and Birch was stopped. Upon
searching the vehicle, SOCA officers found five kilograms of
heroin, as well as a handgun and a knuckleduster. A search of the
property Fairhurst and Birch had just left uncovered a kilogram of
amphetamine, plastic gloves and an industrial press. During the
trial the court heard that these were used for processing drugs.
The raid came at the end of months of covert surveillance, where
the three men were seen meeting up, exchanging packages and
visiting hydroponics shops.
Gregor McGill, Head of Serious Organised Crime at RCPO, said
today:
"I am extremely pleased with this result, which
shows that RCPO and SOCA are a formidable partnership in the fight
against organised crime. Anyone engaging in this kind of criminal
activity can expect substantial sentences."
A SOCA spokesperson said:
"The members of this criminal
group had known each other for a while and had obviously thought
this was a quick and easy way to make money, by trading off the
misery their drugs created when they hit Liverpool streets.
Today's excellent result is another example of the fine
working partnership taking place between SOCA and RCPO"
Notes for editors
1) The addresses and DOB of the defendants are as follows:
a)
John Joseph Fitzgibbon: DOB 01/08/1948. Address: Huyton,
Merseyside
b) Michael Fairhurst: DOB 07/10/1964. Address:
Woolton, Merseyside
c) Richard Ford: DOB 09/10/1949. Address:
Newcastle-upon-Tyne
d) Donna Birch: DOB 11/12/1985. Address:
Woolton, Merseyside
2) The charges are as follows:
a) John Joseph Fitzgibbon,
Michael Fairhurst, Richard Ford and Donna Birch: Conspiracy to
supply a controlled drug
b) Michael Fairhurst and Donna Birch:
Possessing a controlled drug with intent to supply; Possessing a
controlled drug
c) John Joseph Fitzgibbon and Michael
Fairhurst: Converting criminal property; Attempting to convert
criminal property
d) Donna Birch: Having an offensive weapon
3) The Revenue & Customs Prosecutions Office (RCPO) was
created by Royal Assent on 18 April 2005. An independent
prosecuting authority, RCPO is superintended by the Attorney
General, and is responsible for prosecuting some of the largest
drug and fraud cases in the UK.
4) For further information about the Serious Organised Crime
Agency, please see http://www.soca.gov.uk