32 years’ prison for members of Liverpool drugs family

The Fitzgibbon clan dealt in violence, money and drugs for more than a decade, amassed a fortune, yet claimed thousands of pounds in benefits, writes Channel 4 News Home Affairs Correspondent Simon Israel.

They’ve been described as akin to the Sopranos by a source close to the case.

60-year-old Christine Fitzgibbon (above, centre) is the matriarchal head of a Merseyside family whose drug connections extended round the globe.

She was the so-called company secretary. She laundered the money and advised on how to avoid detection.

Her 40-year-old son Jason (above, left) was in charge of transport; her other son, Ian (above, right), aged 39, was in charge of logistics.

Place of safety

They flooded Merseyside with heroin from Turkey, cocaine from South America, ecstasy from Holland – and all controlled from a double semi-detatched house in a suburb of Liverpool.

32 Edale Road, Allerton, Liverpool, was the family home. It was also headquarters of the drug-trafficking business. And it was what they thought was their place of safety.

The Fitzgibbons stayed at the top of their game because they use extreme violence to protect their interests. Graham Johnson, crime writer

But a listening device was planted inside, and for three years Soca investigators eavesdropped and recorded hundreds of hours of conversations.

The bug picked up exchanges such as when the two brothers argued about who was the better drug dealer.

Circuitous trips

For three years they were a top Soca target.

They used false passports to travel, booked flights they never caught, and paid for with cloned cards. Trips to Turkey were via circuitous routes.

In the end, a carboot load of heroin was found in Istanbul, about to leave for the UK. £7m down the drain – but worse still, the notorious family was rumbled

Today’s jail terms will mark the end of era for a crime family which started out with car thefts, moved on to protection rackets, then finally to the rich pickings from drug trafficking.

Extreme violence

Crime writer Graham Johnson, who studied the family, told Channel 4 News: “The Fitzgibbon crime family have been major players in organised crime for 30 or 40 years, and one of the reasons they’ve stayed at the top of their game is because they use extreme violence when necessary to protect their interests.

“They can be very intimidating and are very good at getting at witnesses, which is why the police find it very difficult to build cases, and they’re extremely good drug dealers, so it’s a recipe for success as an underworld crime family”.

For all the while they were stuffing wads of cash under the floorbards, Christine and husband Billy Fitzgibbon were ripping off the state: £1,500 a month in benefits including pension credits, disability allowance.

They had a villa in Spain bought with state handouts, while the drugs cash poured in and business was good.

The Department of Work & Pensions has submitted a case file to the Crown Prosecution Service.

Financial investigators are currently tracking down through various foreign bank accounts the family’s drug profits. In the end it was all about the money.

Circuitous trips

For three years they were a top Soca target. They used false passports to travel, booked flights they never caught, and paid for with cloned cards. Trips to Turkey were via circuitous routes.

In the end, a carboot load of heroin was found in Istanbul, about to leave for the UK. £7m down the drain – but worse still, the notorious family was rumbled

Today’s jail terms will mark the end of era for a crime family which started out with car thefts, moved on to protection rackets, then finally to the rich pickings from drug trafficking.

Crime writer Graham Johnson, who studied the family, told Channel 4 News: “The Fitzgibbon crime family have been major players in organised crime for 30 or 40 years, and one of the reasons they’ve stayed at the top of their game is because they use extreme violence when necessary to protect their interests.

“They can be very intimidating and are very good at getting at witnesses, which is why the police find it very difficult to build cases, and they’re extremely good drug dealers, so it’s a recipe for success as an underworld crime family”.

Ripping off the state

For all the while they were stuffing wads of cash under the floorbards, Christine and husband Billy Fitzgibbon were ripping off the state: £1,500 a month in benefits including pension credits, disability allowance.

They had a villa in Spain bought with state handouts, while the drugs cash poured in and business was good.

The Department of Work & Pensions has submitted a case file to the Crown Prosecution Service.

Financial investigators are currently tracking down through various foreign bank accounts the family’s drug profits. In the end it was all about the money.