Plumber's plot with 'The Baron' to smuggle cocaine abroad inside rope

A man living in a caravan conspired with a mysterious contact, known only as 'The Baron', to ship kilos of cocaine and ketamine hidden inside hollowed-out rope to the other side of the world.

Gavin Smith, 44, of Swansea Road, Pontlliw, in Swansea, was drawn into a plot to smuggle drugs from Wales to New Zealand.

The operation was exposed after South Wales Police arrested Smith for unrelated matters and found the unit on an industrial estate from where he was running a cannabis-dealing business.

He was jailed for six years and nine months.

Ian Wright, prosecuting, told Swansea Crown Court - which was sitting remotely at Cardiff Magistrates' Court - said officers went to Smith's caravan on 28 March to arrest him on unrelated matters.

In the caravan, Wright said, police found a vacuum-packed bag containing a kilo of cannabis, along with quantities of ketamine, cocaine and psilocybin - the active ingredient in magic mushrooms.

Also in the caravan were digital weighing scales, a coffee grinder containing white powder which was being used to cut drugs, a drug press hidden under a bed and coffee pods which appeared to be for the purpose of storing drugs.

The court heard officers recovered Smith's phone from the microwave in the caravan and obtained access to his communications on the encrypted Signal app.

Officers found messages that showed Smith had been involved in dealing cannabis in half-kilo quantities for the past 10 years.

The phone also held information which led officers to a storage unit rented by Smith in an industrial park.

Inside the unit, officers found cardboard boxes labelled with different strains of cannabis. In total, the boxes contained 15 vacuum-sealed bags containing 1lb of cannabis.

Police also found £678 in cash and a notebook which contained what appeared to be 12 random words.

The court heard these words turned out to be cryptocurrency recovery seed phrases which allowed officers to access Smith's crypto wallet, and was found to contain £5,763.

Wright said police also found a large number of messages which Smith had been exchanging on Signal with a contact known as 'The Baron', who appeared to live in New Zealand.

In the messages, Smith, a former plumber, said he could supply ketamine to 'The Baron' at £2,000 per kilo.

'The Baron' suggested the drug could be smuggled into the country inside shipments of rope, and told Smith to hollow out the core in lengths of rope and then use an air compressor to force the ketamine inside, before sealing the rope in bags with a vacuum sealer.

Smith told 'The Baron' if the plan worked he had a contact who could provide him with five or six kilos of ketamine a week.

The court heard 'The Baron' asked Smith for the details of his crypto wallet. On 1 April, he messaged Smith again to tell him the shipment of rope had arrived successfully in New Zealand.

Wright said the pair then began discussing using the same rope method to ship cocaine, with 'The Baron' telling Smith he had a contact in Manchester who could supply him with the drug.

A price of £4,000 was agreed for every kilo of cocaine packaged and sent. The pair discussed sending an initial two kilos per week, with the shipments increasing to four kilos per week if the shipping method proved successful.

In one exchange, also in April, the court heard, 'The Baron' told the defendant the cocaine would be delivered to him in three days. Smith responded, saying he was ready but needed to buy a new shrink wrap heater.

There was no evidence Smith actually sent any cocaine to New Zealand as per the discussion, the court was told.

Smith had previously pleaded guilty to: conspiracy to export ketamine, conspiracy to export cocaine, being concerned in the supply of cannabis, possession of cannabis with intent to supply, possession of ketamine with intent to supply, the simple possession of cocaine, the simple possession of psilocybin and two counts of possession of criminal property - one relating to the cash and one to the contents of the crypto wallet.

He has four previous convictions for six offences, including violent disorder and producing cannabis.

Hywel Davies defending, said Smith had chiefly been involved in supplying Class B drugs, bar a "brief excursion" into Class A drugs - about which, Davies said, it was evident from the exchange of messages, Smith had been "apprehensive".

Davies said Smith was remorseful about the impact his offending would have on his family, and the prospect of being separated from his children for a significant period of time was causing him considerable distress.

He said when Smith had served his time, he wanted to return to plumbing.

The court heard that a proceeds of crime investigation would now be launched into Smith's finances.