08 December 2009

Jail For Postal Drug Supplier

A man who used a parcel delivery franchise to transport drugs, has been sentenced to a total of four years in prison at Woolwich Crown Court.

After pleading guilty to a string of drug and fraud offences, the Class A drug delivery 'businessman' has also been jailed and ordered to pay £274,000.

Following a proactive, intelligence-led operation, London Metropolitan Police officers from the Fraud Squad, in partnership with the Greenwich Council Corporate Anti-Fraud Team, searched a number of properties connected with 43-year-old Mark Anthony Gard.

Gard received a prison sentence of four years for possession with intent to supply Class A drugs, one year for possession with intent to supply Class B drugs and one year and three months for deception in relation to benefit fraud. The sentences are to run concurrently.

He was also ordered to pay £274,000 under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA), with a default sentence of five years if he does not.

The court heard that Gard bought a franchise in a legitimate parcel delivery business and used it as a front for transporting and supplying Class A drugs across the UK.

He used a fleet of vans supplied to him by a business post and mail company to deliver the drugs to buyers. The company were unaware of Gard's criminal dealings.

The extent of Gard's criminality was uncovered as officers collected evidence that suggested he was not only illegally subletting his council house in Greenwich while claiming benefits, but that he also owned a number of properties in the UK and Spain.

On 7 October, a search on Gard's home address revealed over £100,000 cash hidden in a suitcase on top of his wardrobe and drug paraphernalia including scales and clear re-sealable bags.

The cash was seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA). Officers also searched one of the business vans, parked outside his house, which contained 1.8kg of cocaine and 9oz of cannabis resin all packaged and ready for delivery.

Gard, of Moore House, Armitage Road, Greenwich, was arrested and charged the same day with possession with intent to supply Class A drugs, possession with intent to supply Class B drugs and deception in relation to benefit fraud.

Initially, Gard claimed that the cash found by police was profit made from the business franchise, which he said only delivered post in southeast London. Eventually, following overwhelming evidence against him, he pleaded guilty to all three charges on 8 September this year.

Detective Constable John Wills, from the MPS Economic and Specialist Crime Command, said: "This is a significant result that sees the closure of a successful year long investigation undertaken jointly by the Metropolitan Police Service and the London Borough of Greenwich's Corporate Anti-Fraud Team.

"We will continue our work in prosecuting fraudsters using legitimate businesses as fronts for their criminal activity and we will seek to confiscate all their criminally tainted assets using our powers under the Proceeds of Crime Act."

(BMcC/KMcA)