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Cocaine plot man gets eight years
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| Paul Capuvanno |
A convicted drugs smuggler has been jailed for eight years after a police swoop on his Bradford home uncovered cocaine worth almost £44,000.
Officers had gone to Paul Capuvanno's home in Otley Road, Charlestown, to arrest him in relation to another matter but, after a two-hour stand-off which involved sealing off the busy main road last April, he finally gave himself up.
When the premises which had his Mercedes parked outside were searched police discovered a bag containing more than a kilogram of the Class A drug hidden in the rafters of the garage.
Prosecutor Jonathon Sandiford told Bradford Crown Court that during the stand-off outside Barnsley Cottage Capuvanno and his wife Donna had hatched a plot to explain away the cocaine.
Arrangements were made for another man, Mark Ogilvie, to give police an anonymous tip-off about the drugs in the garage and he later made a false confessions in which he claimed he had been paid to "plant'' the cocaine to frame Capuvanno.
The bogus story was supported by Capuvanno's wife, who told detectives someone in a white van had been acting suspiciously near their home hours before the police raid.
A friend of the couple, Christopher Duggan, 37, of Willow Avenue, Wrose, also became involved in the conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and during the days following Paul Capuvanno's remand in custody there were various phone calls and meetings between the group.
At one stage, Donna Capuvanno gave Ogilvie £2,000 to buy a white van and he was instructed to follow her round in the vehicle so the bogus story would be backed up by CCTV footage and witnesses.
Ogilvie finally made two visits to the police making false confessions about planting the cocaine at the house, but he later revealed to officers that he had been lying.
Capuvanno, his wife and Duggan all pleaded guilty earlier this year to conspiring to pervert the course of justice. Mr Sandiford said Capuvanno's DNA profile was found on part of a T-shirt which was in the same bag as the cocaine and he eventually pleaded guilty to possessing the drug with intent to supply it.
The court heard that during a remand hearing before Bingley magistrates last August Capuvanno had tried to escape by scalin the security screens around the dock.
He was restrained after a struggle with two police officers and his wife become involved in the disturbance.
Capuvanno, 35, was yesterday given a six-year jail sentence for the drugs offence with an additional two years for conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.
He received a concurrent two-year jail term for the attempted escape.
His wife, also 35 and a mother-of-three, was sentenced to supervision for two years and 250 hours unpaid community work after she admitted the conspiracy and an assault with intent relating to the court disturbance. She must pay £750 each to the two injured officers and £25,00 costs.
Duggan, who also pleaded guilty to conspiracy, will be under supervision for two years and must do 250 hours unpaid work. He also faces costs of £2,500.
Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC heard both Donna Capuvanno and Duggan were of previous good character but in 1996 Paul Capuvanno was jailed for nine years at Leeds Crown Court after being found guilty of conspiracy to import cannabis.
He was released from that sentence in September 1999 and his barrister Balbir Singh said that, apart from a motoring offence, he had been out of trouble until last April.
Ogilvie, 37, whose address cannot be disclosed, received a conditional discharge for a year for his part in the conspiracy
Judge Durham Hall described him as a willing party, but in passing sentence he said he was to be commended for his later assistance to the police.
After the case Detective Chief Inspector John Gilbody, the head of West Yorkshire Police's drugs and organised crime group, praised the tenacity of his officers for their relentless efforts to ensure that justice was seen to be done.
He said: "This was organised criminality at its highest level and individuals like Capuvanno think they can flout the law.
"Not only do they have a flagrant disregard for the law, they actually believe they are above it. This case sends out a very simplistic message as far as I am concerned: we will relentlessly pursue those who make a living from dealing harmful drugs within our communities and will use everything within our power to bring those who step over that line to justice."
e-mail: newsdesk
@bradford.newsquest.co.uk
10:01am Friday 7th July 2006
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