Family of four jailed for drug trafficking

A FORMER police detective, his wife and two of their sons were jailed for a total of nearly 30 years yesterday for running a drug-trafficking family business.

Michael Falla, 68, and wife Mandy, 51, admitted counts of money laundering and of importing 1.588kg of synthetic cannabinoids with a local street value of between £23,835 and £31,780.

Charles Falla, 20, admitted importing 15,600 LU Dove tablets with a local street value of between £258,000 and £344,000, and conspiring with his brother, Alexander, 18, to sell them. Only 1,504 tablets were recovered.

Alexander admitted a single charge of supplying LU Dove tablets containing the core constituent, Mephedrone, a class B drug.

Sentencing Mandy and Michael Falla to eight years in prison for transferring the proceeds of crime, totalling £62,150, to the bank account of the drug supplier, plus four years concurrent for the importation, Dame Heather Steel said she did not differentiate between the two defendants.

Charles Falla was sentenced to eight years in youth detention, concurrent, for the import and supply charges.

Alexander Falla was sentenced to three years and eight months in youth detention for the single count of supply.