mastermind behind one of Merseyside’s biggest ever drug rings was arrested by police as he played five-a-side football with his trusted gang.While having a knockabout at Walton Hall sports centre, Fazakerley gangster David Hibbs-Turner kept six mobile phones hidden in his sports kit, ready to act at any time as the wheels turned on his multi-million pound international cocaine and heroin operation. he was convicted of ordering the assassination of fellow Liverpool gangster Michael ‘Mikey’ Wright.This week, Hibbs-Turner was jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum of 37 years for the murder, the drugs and running an extortion racket.Now he and his 13-strong “armed and very dangerous” gang are serving more than 150 years behind bars.The operation was simple and the gains massive. Police admit the drugs they seized, worth £4m, are only the tip of the iceberg.Hibbs-Turner, 30, and his gang bought a fleet of white Vauxhall Combi vans and fitted them with secret compartments,The inconspicuous vehicles then brought drugs into the country from Amsterdam and Spain after deals with South American cartels.Hidden in some of Liverpool’s plushest addresses – Beetham Tower, Beetham Plaza, City Lofts, Royal Quay – workers in drug factories would crush up the packages, mix and dilute them and create hundreds of kilos of coke, heroin and ecstasy for the streets of Merseyside and the north west.
The gang are also thought to have controlled patches as far afield as eastern Scotland and Dublin.The extent of the operation was highlighted when officers seized nearly £163,000 found in plastic shopping bags in a cupboard under the stairs at one of Hibbs-Turner’s Liverpool homes.But the drug baron, who also had a home in Marbella, simply walked away from the cash – never bothering to turn up at a hearing at Liverpool magistrates court, where he could have tried to reclaim it. This, police say, is a mere glimpse of the money he was making.At another address, on Cornwallis Street in Liverpool city centre, detectives found 50kg of drugs – worth more than £2m – together with a silenced Steyr machine gun.That was forensically linked to at least six shootings in Merseyside and was just one of an arsenal of weapons uncovered throughout the 20-month investigation.
With his trusted lieutenants, brothers Stephen and James Kelly, by his side, Hibbs-Turner was able to disappear for months when the heat got too much.But from September 2004 to his arrest on February 16, 2007, he and his gang were being watched.
A small team of the best surveillance officers in Merseyside police were put together after they scratched the surface and were shocked at what they found.
Police admit they had no idea of the scale of the operation, and without calls from the community concerned about dealing, the gang may not have appeared on their radar until much later.DCI Brian Gaddas, of Merseyside police’s Matrix team, said: “This was a highly organised and dangerous criminal group who had little respect for authorities or even other criminal groups in Merseyside, and ruled through fear and intimidation.“These convictions are the result of an extensive and complex investigation which has now totally dismantled this group. I have to praise the small group of detectives who were able to collect evidence of such gravity that almost all of the defendants saw they had no choice but to plead guilty.
“They worked long and hard in the most hostile environment building a case while putting their own lives in danger on a day-to-day basis. The fact none of the targets had any knowledge whatsoever of their existence is testament to their professionalism.”Twelve members of the gang admitted conspiracy to supply drugs of class A and B, with three also pleading guilty to firearm charges.
Two members, Michael Kinsella and a man who cannot be named for legal reasons, were convicted after a 17-day trial.
Ringleader David Hibbs-Turner, 30, of Fazakerley, was the mastermind of the operation, spending substantial periods of time in Amsterdam organising deals, fake passports and properties.Joint second-in-command brothers Stephen Kelly, 30, of Princes Dock, and James Kelly, 24, of Stalmine Road, Walton, were both jailed for 14 years. They ran much of the day-to-day operation and were seen turning up at an array of luxury pads in top-end cars to organise the cutting, packaging and distribution of the drugs.Lee Cole, 27, of Rice Lane, Walton, received 15 years after also admitting firearms offences. He was involved in the operation both in Liverpool and Amsterdam. He was previously jailed for two years for supplying heroin, as well as a six-month sentence for importing cannabis.Wesley Barton, 23, of Oakhouse Park, Walton, was directly connected with a drugs factory at Royal Quay. He received 15 years.Michael Kinsella, 30, of Holy Cross Close, Liverpool city centre, worked in both Merseyside and Holland. He was involved in sending money and delivering large quantities of cocaine. He was jailed for 10 years and has previously served seven years for possessing heroin and coke with intent to supply.
David Surridge, 21, of Ruskin Street, Kirkdale, was jailed for 15 years. He bought hydraulic presses and delivered drugs.Stephen Phillips, 19, of Glenista Close, Walton, was connected with several of the raided drugs factories. He received 10 years.
Anthony Wignall, 31, of Granton Road, Everton, was jailed for 11 years and three months after being caught making regular journeys to Amsterdam and sending money to Holland.
Michael Riley, 27, of Bianca Street, Bootle, travelled to Holland at least six times in 2006, carrying money out to Hibbs- Turner. He was jailed for 10 year.
Adam Joynson, 19, Willowdale Road, Walton, was jailed for eight years. He sent out substantial amounts to Holland.
Nicholas Miller, 20, of Betula Close, Walton, was involved with the Rice Lane drugs factory and was locked up for nine and a half years.
Jamie Quirk, 26, of Bulford Road, Walton, was jailed for 10 years. He sent money to Amsterdam.
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