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A solicitor who was practising criminal defence while he was involved in supplying cocaine and steroids has been jailed, along with two associates. The South Wales Police investigation that caught him began when he represented one of them.
Ben Garvey, Daniel Baker and Jake Blackburn all knew each other and had links to Sandfields in Port Talbot. They were convicted after a trial over July and August this year, and on Tuesday they were given jail terms totalling 11 years and eight months at Bristol Crown Court.
The sentences
- Ben Garvey – three years and six months for being concerned in the supply of steroids, being concerned in the supply of cocaine, assisting or encouraging the supply of cocaine, and perverting the course of justice.
- Daniel Baker – three years and four months for being concerned in the supply of cocaine with Blackburn, and perverting the course of justice.
- Jake Blackburn – four years and ten months for being concerned in the supply of cocaine with Baker, and perverting the course of justice.
Baker was already in prison when he was sentenced. Tarian officers had arrested him, and he was later convicted of breaching a Serious Crime Prevention Order.
How it started
The case was called Operation Kilau. The force’s Serious Organised Crime Team led it, with help from the Tarian Regional Organised Crime Unit.
It began when Baker was arrested in August 2021 over separate cocaine supply offences. Garvey and his firm represented him at the time. When detectives went through mobile phones and other devices, they found that the solicitor was dealing drugs himself.
The same material showed that Blackburn had been distributing drugs for Baker. It also included messages showing cocaine going to Garvey.
The search and the WhatsApp group
In September 2021 officers searched Garvey’s home. They took away more mobile devices and seized steroids, which are a class C drug. When those devices were examined, they showed Garvey had been directly involved in supplying cocaine and steroids within his circle of associates.
He was also an active member of a WhatsApp group of 17 people. Between 2020 and 2021 its members discussed getting hold of cocaine and supplying it. Clips of cocaine being taken were shared in the group, along with pictures of wholesale quantities of the drug.
When Baker was in custody in August 2021, Garvey passed criminal messages between him and Blackburn.
What police said
Chief Inspector Russ Jenkins, the senior investigating officer, said:
“This was an extremely complex investigation requiring the careful handling of a significant volume of legally privileged material.
“Ben Garvey was a practising criminal defence solicitor throughout the period of offending, which spanned several years. As an officer of the court, he had a clear duty to uphold the integrity of the criminal justice system. Instead, he chose to abuse that position of trust by actively engaging in the very criminality he was professionally bound to challenge.
“The sentences imposed today reflect the seriousness of these offences and should serve as a clear warning to others involved in organised drug supply.”
