Drug-dealing chef and painter handed jail terms over 'safehouse' raid

Alex Gibson and John Smart were caught red handed when officers burst into a flat on Wakefield’s Peacock Close and found almost a kilo of cocaine and half a kilo of heroin, along with a sawn-off shotgun and ammunition.

Leeds Crown Court was told that the property, which was where Smart lived, was being used as a ‘safehouse’ for a gang to store large quantities of Class A drugs.

Acting on intelligence, police targeted the flat on December 14 last year, and spotted Gibson frantically trying to flee through a window with a carrier bag in his hand when they burst in.

He was arrested after a brief chase, and the plastic bag was recovered which contained 998 grammes of cocaine, which is thought to be worth around £20,000

Smart made no attempt to run and was arrested in the flat.

Following a search they recovered 482 grammes of heroin in two bags the understairs cupboard, along with the sawn-off gun and ammunition behind the sofa.

A large hunting knife, a makeshift knife and a home-made slingshot with bearings were also found.

Prosecutor Gareth Henderson-Moore said the weapons were a deterrent to stop other drug gangs from ‘taxing’ the flat – raiding the property to steal the drugs and money.

While Smart lived there, it was accepted that Gibson had only been there to either pick up or drop off the cocaine when the police burst in.

Gibson, age 26, of Ashton Road, Harehills, Leeds, admitted being concerned in the supply of heroin.

Mitigating, Kate Batty said Gibson had worked as a chef in Kettlethorpe but lost his job when the first lockdown was imposed, and so moved to Leeds looking for work.

He began using Class A drugs, the court was told.

Ms Batty said: “He was living in a shared house with a drug addiction, there was no evidence he was living a lavish lifestyle.”

He has just one conviction for criminal damage and threatening behaviour.

Smart, age 49, admitted possessing heroin with an intent to supply, and possessing a firearm without a licence.

He has 11 convictions for 32 offences, including possessing an offensive weapon in 1996, and multiple drug possession convictions.

Charlotte Noddings, mitigating, said: “In 2020 he had a business as a painter and decorator but lost his livelihood and started taking cannabis to cope.

"He started ‘warehousing’ for drug dealers who made threats against him, and received small amounts of drugs to feed his own habit.

"He has now turned his back on taking drugs, that’s how he ended up here and he knows it was a foolish mistake.”

She said that many of the weapons found in the flat were Smart’s which he used while wild camping.

Both held on remand at HMP Leeds, they appeared in court via video link.

Judge Geoffrey Marson QC handed Smart 42 months’ jail and Gibson 54 months.