Smashed

Conspirators, whose trial has just finished at Bristol Crown Court, represented three links in a chain bringing drugs into Swindon and Vincent Gibbs was in charge of the local organisation.

Early in 2001 police suspected that he and his close associate William Livingstone were heading a local organisation distributing drugs in and around the Swindon area.

Operation Daisy was launched and, as it progressed, it became clear that the drugs were coming into the area from London, senior investigating officer Det Insp John Pickering explained.

Using observation and electronic surveillance, detectives from the major crime unit built up a jigsaw picture of what was happening and on February 12, 2002, they realised there was likely to be an exchange of drugs and money in the car park of the Spotted Cow at Coate.

They closed in and found nearly 60 kilos of cannabis in the boot of Mark Kirwan's car, nearly £60,000 in loose cash in a safety deposit box and at the Butlers' flat and later, traces of cocaine in Gibbs' Mercedes.

With a wholesale price of around £950 a kilo, the cannabis, had it been divided up in the usual way, would have been sold on the street for three or four times its original worth. That meant a street value in excess of £170,000.

Yesterday Mark Kirwan, 42, of Farrfield, Stratton, was found guilty on a majority vote of 10-2 of conspiracy to supply cocaine.

Graham Stratton, 32, of Ebbw Vale, South Wales, was cleared of conspiring to supply both cocaine and cannabis and Colin John Butler, 35, of Bermondsey, London, was found not guilty of the cannabis charge.

On Friday, Colin John Butler's parents, Colin Roy and Rose Butler, along with Craig Wanless, 27, of Braydon Court, Penhill, and Richard Brinsdon, 34, of Penhill Drive, Penhill, were acquitted of conspiring to supply cocaine.

Gibbs, 37, of Croft Road, Old Town, and William Livingstone, 35, of Lyndhurst Crescent, Park North, had previously admitted both cocaine and cannabis conspiracy charges. All the defendants, apart from Butler junior and Stratton, admitted conspiring to supply cannabis.

Sentencing is expected later this month. Gibbs and Livingstone have been remanded in custody, the other defendants on bail.

At one time Gibbs' debt to Colin Butler senior was a staggering £94,000. He had paid off a large chunk, said Det Insp Pickering, but with the last consignment his debt had shot up again.

Gibbs is a director of Gibbs Tarmac, which is based on the Orchard Industrial Estate in Cheney Manor.

"Vincent Gibbs is part of what certainly appears to be a successful business, quite well known locally," said Det Insp Pickering.

"I'm sure it was a shock, not only to his parents, but to people who have had dealings with that business, that one of the directors is actually involved to a substantial and serious degree in conspiracy to supply drugs."

Gibbs and Livingstone had people below them who were dealers in their own right, explained Det Insp Pickering.

When everyone was arrested police realised they had caught several tiers of the operation.

"Quite often you will hear, and we heard it at this trial, that someone is dealing in drugs to feed their own habit. That is not what we have here.

"We heard Mr Butler say he has never used drugs apart from his medication," he said.

"I think it is reassuring for people to know that the police do investigate and have successes in cases of people who are clearly just out to make a profit."

Drugs were linked to a huge amount of crime, especially theft. Victims of crimes like burglary were also drug dealers' victims, he said.

"People who deal in drugs purely for profit do so at the expense of those victims.

"This is an illegal commodity and people have been talking about thousands and tens of thousands of pounds as if it was loose change.

"Dealers at the top end sometimes believe they are too far removed or too clever to get caught. They were wrong."

Tina Clarke