drugs

The importation of 30 kilos of cocaine which involved the use of telephone intercepts provided by the Dutch authorities.

A complicated plan to open up a drugs route in to the country via Tilbury Docks that involved corrupt dockworkers’ forging paper work and allowing the gang access to restricted customs areas.

Leading counsel in the trial and retrial. The client opted to remain in custody for an additional 6 months to wait for a date when Stephen was available. The Crown’s case was that the murder was a drugs killing. It involved the challenging of DNA, call data, cell site, fibres and blood splatter evidence.

The defendant was charged with attempted murder and possession of a firearm. The Crown’s case was that the defendant had gone to a rival’s property where drugs were stored with the intention of stealing them. During the robbery one of the occupants of the premises was shot in the head but survived. The defendant did not deny being at the address during that night but maintained he knew nothing of the shooting and that it must have happened minutes after he had left. The crown relied on an expert in cell site analysis who had concluded that the defendant’s mobile telephone was at the scene of the shooting at the exact time. After detailed and lengthy cross examination of the expert it was shown that in fact the opposite was true and the defendant’s telephone (along with the defendant) had left the scene approximately 6 minutes before the shooting occurred . The defendant was acquitted.

Charged with conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and possession of firearms. The defendant was acquitted after a 9 week trial.

Importation of 1 ton of cannabis resin inside specially constructed carpet hides – the defendants claimed to have been duped believing that the load was to be tobacco. First tried in 2002 when all of the defendants were convicted. A re-trial was ordered by the Court of Appeal. After a number of delays due to public interest immunity (PII) applications being made by the Crown, the second trial (Stephen Vullo first instructed) was heard in January 2006 which was aborted due to allegations of jury tampering. At the third trial in September 2006 the prosecution had to make admissions before the jury that the man named in defence statements served in the first trial had been convicted of drug smuggling on two separate occasions and had in the past duped others into doing so. Furthermore, he had ordered the murder of a co-defendant before their joint trial, who in his defence statement had claimed also to have been duped. All the defendants were acquitted.