Family-run crime group dismantled

17 Jun 2013 12:40 PM

The business of crime has proved costly for members of a family-run dug trafficking gang from Liverpool.

Matriarch of Fitzgibbon family, Christine, aged 60, acted as banker for her sons Jason, aged 40, and Ian, aged 39, by receiving, managing and laundering the vast amounts of drug money they accrued.

The trio and two criminal associates received sentences totalling over 44 years at Manchester Crown Court recently for an array of drug and money laundering offences.

They believed the family home on Edale Road, Allerton, was a safe haven in which they could run their business and meet with associates to orchestrate the importation and supply of drugs. The brothers, who began their life of crime in their teenage years, also had an established network of criminal contacts across Europe and South America,

Officers from the Serious Organised Crime Agency were watching their every move though and gathered enough evidence to secure guilty pleas. Joint working with the Turkish authorities and Merseyside Police led to the seizure of 57 kilos of heroin in Istanbul and 165,000 MDMA tablets in Liverpool. Key conversations linking them to the drugs were recorded on a listening device planted in the family home.

Matt Burton, Head of Investigations for SOCA, said: "Members of this crime group have terrorised local communities for many years through drug trafficking and associated violence. Christine schooled Jason and Ian from an early age on how to disregard the laws of the land. They thought they were untouchable but they were wrong.

"The sentences handed out should act as a warning to others who think they can get away with attempting to flood the streets of the UK with dangerous drugs. As the Fitzgibbon family discovered, SOCA and its partners have the capability to completely dismantle crime groups and put those involved behind bars."

When officers searched the family home (pictured), carrier bags full of 'street money' were found hidden in a specially constructed hide under the floor of one of the bedrooms. There was also money concealed within the central column of a side table in the dining room. A total of £182,820 was recovered at Ian's home in Heigham Gardens a further £34,530 was seized.

Elizabeth Jenkins, Head of CPS Organised Crime Division (North), said: "The family home of the Fitzgibbons might have looked ordinary to any passers-by, but in fact it was at the heart of a drugs ring that supplied criminals across the North West and had international connections. Despite the extraordinary scale and reach of their operation, the prosecution team was able to gather and present damning evidence that left them with no real choice but to plead guilty."

Christine Fitzgibbon received a two-year jail term for money laundering, while Jason was sentenced to 16 years for conspiracy to import heroin and money laundering. Ian was jailed for 14 and a half years for conspiracies to supply heroin, conspiracy to supply MDMA and money laundering. Criminal associates Daniel Smith, aged 26, and Neil Williams, aged 32, were also sentenced. Smith received 10 years for conspiracy to supply MDMA, and Williams received 21 months for money laundering.