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Heroin smuggling family jailed

Three members of a notorious criminal family have been jailed for a total of 32 years over a failed plot to smuggle more than £6 million of heroin from Turkey.

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Police: A criminal family who ran a criminal business

Matt Burton, of the Serious Organised Crime Agency, said members of the Fitzgibbon family forged a network of international contacts, travelled to Turkey, sent criminal associates onoverseas deals and even kept up to speed on currency exchange rates to optimise profits from drug deals.

If they were to have channelled their thoughts and efforts into a legitimate business I have no doubt they'd be very wealthy individuals.

What we have here is a criminal family running a criminal business. Mum, very much the company director, finance director and consultant. Father a consultant, adviser to the two brothers. And the brothers, very hands-on managing directors involved in source countries (countries from which drugs are sourced) and face-to-face meetings.

Mum, as the finance director, would be well aware of the exchange rate between the euro and the pound. She would be aware of the impact of that in any importation.

She's very acutely aware of our tactics... and would advise her sons on forensic strategies and ways to avoid detection.

But these individuals have convicted themselves by their own words in their own house.

– Matt Burton from the Serious Organised Crime Agency

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