Video: The moment James Gibson was finally snared by the National Crime Agency
A man from a quiet street in a Nottinghamshire town has been exposed as a leading distributor of hard drugs to criminal gangs nationwide.
James Gibson, of Cinder Lane in Ollerton, headed a network of couriers who collected ambulances driven over from Holland filled with class A drugs hidden in secret compartments.
He and five other men have now been jailed for their part in the conspiracy, which was brought down by the National Crime Agency (NCA).
Officers began to unravel Gibson’s empire in June 2015 when they intercepted a Dutch registered ambulance in Hill Street, Smethwick, West Midlands.
Detectives described it as being ‘rammed’ with drugs.
There was in total 193 kilos of high purity cocaine with a street value of more than £30 million, 74 kilos of heroin worth more than £8 million and MDMA, or ecstasy, with a street value of £60,000.
A ‘dealer list’ was seized at the scene which identified a person known as ‘Gibbo’ who would play a pivotal role in the collection and distribution of the drugs concealed in the ambulance.
Investigators identified that ‘Gibbo’ was James Gibson, 56, and that he was the UK distributor for an international group.
Investigators later worked out that ambulances had made 50 previous trips to the UK and evidence showed that Gibson had been to the same locations when they arrived over a period of several months.
Gibson appeared at Birmingham Crown Court on Monday and was sentenced to 20 years for conspiracy to import and supply Class A drugs, and concealing criminal property.
Rob Lewin, Head of the NCA’s Specialist Operations Unit, said: “This was a highly specialist drug transportation service. By shutting it down the NCA and its partners have disrupted criminal activity across the UK. There will be some very frustrated high-level criminals out there who, given the size of their orders, will have lost a lot of money.
“The human cost of class A drug addiction is huge but these men, who made trip after trip, were motivated only by profit. We will now start to focus on stripping them of any assets.
National network: The men behind the deals and their sentences
- James Gibson, 56, from Cinder Lane, Ollerton, Nottinghamshire: 20 years for conspiracy to import and supply Class A drugs, and concealing criminal property
- Petrit Kastrati, 42, from Oakwood Drive, Crystal Palace: 17 years and six months for conspiracy to import Class A drugs
- Raymond DeSilva, 60, from Cranbourne Road, Slough: 16 years for conspiracy to import Class A drugs
- Jonathan Floyd, 47, from Whitethorn Avenue, Burnage, Manchester: 15 years for conspiracy to import and supply Class A drugs and driving while disqualified
- Darren Owen, 48, from Balham Close, Rushden, Northamptonshire: 15 years for conspiracy to import and supply Class A drugs
- Richard Clarke, 36, from Tots Gardens, Acton, near Sudbury in Suffolk: 11 years for conspiracy supply Class A drugs
