Ian Fitzgibbon was warned not to repeat his father’s sins, but he didn’t listen

Ian Fitzgibbon has been warned not to repeat the “sins of his father” but now faces a lengthy jail term. The drug dealer was jailed for fourteen-and-a-half years this week after being unmasked as EncroChat user ‘Vimto Hawk’.

This week’s sentence comes nine years after the Echo reported that Fitzgibbon, now 29, was spared jail after being caught with four bags of cannabis bush and a block of cannabis resin – in total value of up to £2,000 – as well as two mobile devices. phones following a police pursuit.

At the time, Judge Norman Wright warned Fitzgibbon Jnr not to “follow in his father’s faltering footsteps”, adding: “If ever there was a role model not to follow, it’s him serving 14 years in prison for drug smuggling. , the sins of the father will not be punished on the son”.

Fitzgibbon Snr was jailed for 14 years in 2013 for a £7m drug-trafficking and money-laundering plot. His son was “spotted acting suspiciously” in Ashover Avenue, Huyton, on December 8, 2014. Michael Jones, prosecuting during the hearing, outlined how he was then chased by police before being caught.

Nicholas Cockrell, appearing on that occasion, told the court that the younger Fitzgibbon had left school as an “intelligent” 16-year-old with a “good education”. However, “the wheels came off” when he failed to complete his college coursework. He was spared jail and told to do 200 hours of unpaid work.

Liverpool Crown Court heard on Tuesday how Fitzgibbon used the encrypted communications platform to trade heroin and cocaine with associates including Niall Barry and Sean Zeisz, who were convicted last year of murdering Ashley Dale. Fitzgibbon was cleared of the same charge.

The court heard how he threw his phone out of his flat window when police came knocking on his door, before telling detectives interviewing him that he was a “big hunk”, in other words showing himself in messages. and that he did not really have access to such large quantities of drugs. Liverpool Crown Court was told he was identified as the owner of the ‘VimtoHawk’ account after it was discovered the handle was stored on the phones of other users as ‘Ian’, ‘Little Ian’ and ‘YIF’.

The lock screen password was the same as his Instagram account and was about his family dog. David Polglase, prosecuting, described how messages revealed when the network was infiltrated by French police revealed details of his involvement in the supply of 19.6kg of cocaine and 21kg of heroin.

Fitzgibbon was also shown to be operating drug dealing operations across county lines in both North Wales and Cumbria. A “note” recovered from his device, dating from October 2019, referred to him racking up £33,000 in “wages”, while his allegedly secret conversations spoke of “moving a large amount of drugs using his father’s name ” and a cache of 50 kg of heroin being available in London.

On April 29, 2020, he “instructed” Zeisz to buy half a kilogram of cocaine, then on May 11 sold three kilograms to Barry in a deal that was “brokered” by Zeisz. Fitzgibbon was arrested at his flat in Linnet Lane, Sefton Park, on February 20 this year after Merseyside Police forced entry through the communal door. He was seen throwing his mobile phone out of a window at this point, although it “landed close to an officer who had seen him throw it out”.

The PCs were then left at the address by his sister, with £12,000 in cash recovered from inside. During the interview, Fitzgibbon admitted to using the Encro phone and that he was “involved in dealing heroin and cocaine, but it would not have been the amount stated in the disclosure”.

He later remained silent under questioning, apart from saying he was “screaming his mouth off” when discussing the 50kg of heroin in his messages. His criminal record shows four previous convictions for six offenses – including possession of cannabis in March 2015, a six-month prison sentence suspended for two years for possession of cannabis with intent to supply in June 2015 and six months for handling stolen goods and possession of a Class B drug in October 2017.

“He is determined to change for his family and daughter”

Donal McGuire, representing Fitzgibbon during his final court appearance, said his client had written a letter to the judge in which he “set out his hopes for the future, his regret, his shame” and “he knew he left a lot of people behind down”. He added: “It is the remorse of a man who has been able to reflect on his offending, what he has done and the harm he has done to his community in a change of circumstances for him.

“He is making good use of his time in prison. He is enjoying an improved status. He is taking a large number of courses. He left school at about 17 with some GCSEs. He is trying to make better use of them. He is determined to undertake diligently any course that it is within his reach.

“Although it may be several years before he is released, he is already planning for that release. Two months before his arrest, he enjoyed the birth of his first child – to whom he is devoted. This is the kind of event that can change someone like Ian Fitzgibbon, causing him to reflect on those very bad lifestyle issues that land him in court today. He knows his life has to change.

“He is determined to change for his family and his daughter. Here, the court may feel that some of those changes have already occurred. He knows that important steps in (his daughter’s) development will be missed. He knows that he will not be able to give his daughter the assistance and support that he would have liked to do. He is doing everything he can to make it up to her to put this offense behind her.”

Fitzgibbon admitted conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine and possession of criminal property. Appearing in the dock wearing a blue Columbia top and sporting short dark hair, he showed no reaction as he was locked up for 14-and-a-half years.

If ever there was a role model not to follow, this is it

Judge Andrew Menary KC said: “It is clear that you were a trusted broker with a ready source of significant quantities of Class A drugs, with the infrastructure to collect and deliver those drugs to customers across the country and not just in Liverpool. You also operate your own lines.

“So obviously you play a leading role. Organize, buy and sell on a commercial scale, with substantial connections and influence over others in the supply chain and, given the large amounts of money being discussed, with an expectation. of substantial financial advantage.

“The fact that £12,000 in cash was found in your home upon your arrest is only a modest indication of the amounts of money being talked about and changing hands between you and the people you were dealing with. Considering the nature of the goods being discussed and the abject mess and devastation caused in this city and across the country by this activity, the tone of these messages is remarkably trite.

“This is because – despite the extremely criminal nature of these discussions, despite the profits made and the high stakes for which you are playing – you and those you conspire with believed that your activities would never come to light.

“You have sent me a letter expressing your regret for having been involved in this crime and expressing your desire to take advantage of your time in custody and improve your prospects of leading a more honest life on your eventual release, particularly in the light of the impact you have. the offense is to have on your family – especially your child, I am prepared to accept that your expressions are genuine and that you have a desire to change.