SWINDON DRUGS HOTLINE: AN undercover detective gave an insight into the town's seedy drugs trade at a trial involving six Swindon people.

Det Sgt Jeremy Butcher told Bristol Crown Court that the majority of cocaine being dished out by the pushers arrives in town from London, that a kilo of it would cost peddlers up to £32,000 to buy and that the same weight of cannabis would fetch £2,000 on the streets.

The detective was giving evidence on day three of a drugs conspiracy trial involving Tracy Bunce, 41, of Croft Road, Old Town; Mark Kirwan, 42, of Farrfield, Upper Stratton; Craig Wanless, 27, of Braydon Court, Penhill and Richard Brinsdon, 34, of Penhill Drive, Penhill.

Together with Colin Roy Butler, 58, his wife Rose Winifred Butler, 54, and son Colin John Butler, 35, of Bermondsey, and Graham Stratton, 32, of Ebbw Vale, all eight deny conspiracy to supply Class A drugs. Bunce, Butler junior and Stratton deny charges of conspiring to supply cannabis. The five others admit it.

Meanwhile Vincent Gibbs, 37, of Croft Road and William Livingstone, 35, of Lyndhurst Crescent, Park North, have already pleaded guilty to both charges.

In further evidence, DS Butcher explained pushers would make a 100 per cent profit on the £950 cost price of a kilo of cannabis. He said the kilo would be broken down into 9oz bars that were again reduced to portions weighing an eighth or sixteenth of an ounce, which would be sold for £10 or £5 respectfully. DS Butcher, who has been in the service for 20 years, said that it was more difficult to be specific about the wholesale value of cocaine, although it was sold for £50 and £55 a gram.

Asked by prosecutor Michael Mather-Lees what the term "merc" was likely to mean, he explained that the Mercedes Benz logo was often printed on ecstasy tablets and that it could also mean cocaine.

When Vincent Gibbs was recorded talking to a co-conspirator about "half a kee of charlie" for someone called Pedro and quoting a price of £16,000, DS Butcher said he was talking about half a kilo of cocaine at a "fairly good" price.

Another recorded discussion involving "merc" indicated Gibbs was talking about cocaine while a comment to Butler senior about "going on the rocks" suggested crack cocaine.

Gibbs and William Livingstone were both shown on the dealers lists kept by Winifred Butler. The lists also detailed money that was paid into Barclays Bank, Abbey National and Woolwich accounts.

Mark Gatley, defending Winifred Butler, asked if the dealer lists could show two different consignments for cannabis rather than separate figures for cannabis and cocaine.

The detective said that he would not expect to see cannabis sales shown as a "quarter" which is how the second figure was shown in the lists. Det Con Simon Ford told how, shortly before their arrest, the three Butlers and Livingstone were observed by police in the car park of the Spotted Cow at Coate Water. A black Ford Mondeo, later found with over 57 kilos of cannabis inside it, was seen parked boot to boot with Butler senior's Audi A4. The trial continues today.

tclarke@newswilts.co.uk