05 March 2012
Masciopinto Drug Gang Jailed
A gang responsible for a major drug dealing operation in Bedford
have been jailed for a total of 39 years.
Police had been monitoring the operation which involved buying
cocaine and heroin in Bradford and bringing it to Bedford, ready
for preparing it for street sized deals, Luton Crown Court was told
today/Friday.
When the lock up at Eastcotts was raided on May 12 2011 1.4
kilos of cocaine and 1.23 kilos of heroin were found. But police
also discovered almost 40 kilos of cutting agents which would have
enabled the gang to turn out 53 kilos of high purity cocaine.
The team also used two safe houses in the town for packaging and
distribution, said prosecutor Amjad Malik QC.
Jailing the five men involved, Judge Barbara Mensah said:
"Dealing in heroin and cocaine is odious and pernicious. You all
played a part in putting substantial quantities of those drugs on
the market, causing suffering to others.
"This was a sophisticated operation and every cog in the wheel
was important.
"The quantity of drugs found was small but it is a matter of
common sense that you were not keeping a large store of drugs
there."
She said a conservative estimate would suggest in the region of
20 kilos of drugs were handled between October 2010 and May last
year with the capability of processing a lot more.
Before the court were Domineco Masciopinto, 31 of Reddall Close,
Bedford who was convicted by a jury last month of two charges of
conspiracy to supply Class A drugs. He was described as the boss of
the operation and he was jailed for 14 years.
The Judge said that despite being shot in January last year, he
continued with his running of the operation once he had
recovered.
Four other defendants pleaded guilty to the two charges of
conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine.
Daniele Digiacomo, 20 of Heather Gardens, Bedford was sentenced
to eight years
custody.
Stefano D'Aniello, 29 of Huddleston Way, Bedford was jailed for
seven
years
Michael Capone, 27 of Bromham Road, Bedford was jailed for six
years.
James Byrne, 39 of London Road, Northampton was jailed for four
years.
Also before the court were Christopher Kostarz, 35 of Cardington
Road, Bedford and Miss Rosaria Kosijer, 34 of Faraday Square,
Bedford who both pleaded guilty to allowing their premises to be
used for the supply of drugs. They were both given a twelve month
prison sentence suspended for 18 months with 200 hours unpaid work.
They had both spent time in custody on remand.
Confiscation proceedings against the five main defendants will
be heard in September.
The man who supplied the drugs in Bradford will be sentenced
later.
Please note – all court copies are provided by South
Beds News Agency, who retain the copyright© for all articles
published.