North Wales’ most notorious former gangster was easy to catch compared with today’s operators, according to a police officer.
Sergeant Steve Prince said that, although the investigation and arrest of John Gizzi took a lot of man hours, it was relatively straightforward, while tracking those involved in “county lines” drug dealing was much trickier.
Gizzi was jailed for 11 years in 2011 after admitting conspiring to bring cocaine into North Wales.
In a presentation to Prestatyn town councillors, Sgt Prince, a member of the Prestatyn Safe Neighbourhood Team, said: “Gizzi was a big fish in a little pond but, compared to those who are now involved, he is a very small fish, an irrelevance.”
The officer described the way county lines operate, with youngsters - many of whom are vulnerable - being recruited in places such as Liverpool and Manchester and brought to towns in North Wales to sell their drugs.
“They come in daily with relatively small amounts of drugs but there are so many of them,” he said.
“Young people may be moved across the country until they sell their drugs.”
Sgt Prince revealed that a London gang was also known to have been operating in Llandudno .
He told the members that “cuckooing”, in which dealers move into the homes of vulnerable people including drug users, was a growing problem.
“Because they are not on the streets they are pretty well invisible,” he said.
He said a new proactive police team was being established in Rhyl, adding: “The first job I have for them is a chap dealing cannabis to children in Prestatyn.”
Several members voiced concern about the scale of the problem and Sgt Prince said cocaine was becoming much more widely used.
“Nowadays, when we take swipes in the toilets of pubs and clubs, it is very rare that they do not test positive for cocaine – and the ladies are worse than the gents,” he said.
Cllr Peter Duffy said: “You haven’t got a hope in hell because there is so much of it about.
"Parents and even grandparents use cannabis, so what hope is there for the children?”
