Criminal defence solicitor jailed for supplying cocaine

Police uncovered his drug dealing while investigating client

A criminal defence solicitor who became involved in supplying cocaine and steroids while representing a client caught up in a drugs investigation has been jailed for three years and six months.

Ben Garvey was sentenced at Bristol Crown Court after being convicted of offences relating to drug supply and perverting the course of justice.

Garvey was practising as a criminal defence solicitor when South Wales Police launched an investigation into Daniel Baker, who was arrested in August 2021 in connection with separate cocaine supply offences. Garvey and his firm represented Baker at the time.

But analysis of mobile phones and other devices revealed that Garvey himself was involved in supplying drugs.

Investigators discovered that Garvey was an active member of a 17-person WhatsApp group in which members discussed sourcing and supplying cocaine between 2020 and 2021. Messages also included footage of cocaine being used and images of wholesale quantities of the drug.

A search of Garvey’s home in September 2021 uncovered further mobile devices and steroids, a class C drug. Police also found that Garvey had acted as an intermediary for criminal messages between Baker and another man, Jake Blackburn, while Baker was in custody.

Following a trial in July and August this year, Garvey was convicted of being concerned in the supply of cocaine and steroids, assisting or encouraging the supply of cocaine, and perverting the course of justice.

Baker and Blackburn were also convicted of offences relating to cocaine supply and perverting the course of justice, receiving sentences of three years and four months and four years and ten months respectively.

Commenting on the case, chief inspector Russ Jenkins of South Wales Police said:

“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.”

He added: “The sentences imposed today reflect the seriousness of these offences and should serve as a clear warning to others involved in organised drug supply.”