Corby man Ralph Gabbidon, accused of gun and drug offences, says £54k in his bank account was earned from building Ikea furniture

A Corby man accused of running a ‘little drug factory’ from his home claimed his earnings were the legitimate profits from building Ikea flat-pack furniture.

Ralph Gabbidon, 49, was in a flat in Calder Close, Corby, when police raided it at 4am on May 31 this year. Inside, officers found a sawn-off shotgun, an imitation pistol, large quantities of cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, amphetamine and cannabis ready for sale as well as 30 mobile phones, scales and handwritten lists of clients.

They also discovered £18,000 in notes and £5,000 in coins as well as several different cutting agents.

When arrested, the defendant told police: “It’s all mine. I’m not coming out. I’m gonna be gone forever.”

But at the closing day of a Northampton Crown Court trial yesterday (Thursday, December 22), Gabbidon claimed that he had been acting under duress, and that ‘men’ had taken over his flat and forced him to stash their drugs and weapons there.

Giving evidence, he told the court he had visited McDonalds in Corby in early May and met a woman who came back to his flat with some female friends. Two men, who he didn’t know, later arrived at the flat for some drinks.

A few days later they returned to his flat, pushed their way in and threatened to stab him and his young son if he didn’t allow them to stash their stuff there.

From the witness box, Gabbidon told the court: “(One of the men) said he wanted to stash the drugs in my house or else he’d kill me, literally murder me.”

He said he knew that the men had been dealing drugs from the flat but did not know a shotgun and a modified pistol were in a cupboard.

Nine of the phones found were forensically analysed and messages about drug dealing were found on them.

Although Gabbidon’s name was not on the lease, he told officers he’d been living there for three years. The defendant claimed to be a music promoter, house mover, handyman and flat-pack furniture maker, which made him £54,000 in 2021/22 that he deposited in five bank accounts in his name and the name of his business RJ Logistics. He had made £48,000 the year before.

He said the £17,000 in cash was not his, but that he did own the £5,000 in coins which were the result of him collecting loose change during the past five years.

The court was told Gabbidon had two cars including a Mercedes on finance, a £500 diesel jacket and expensive watches.

But none of his DNA was found on any of the illicit items in the flat.

Prosecuting barrister, Julian Lynch, said that Gabbidon had spoken to police officers in the car on the way to the station.

"He said in the car it’s all mine, it’s all mine, I can’t believe this,” said Mr Lynch.

“I never harmed anyone so with that I’m cool, but with the rest I’m f***ed. I’m not coming out, I’m gonna be gone forever and ever.”

The court heard that Gabbidon wouldn’t tell police the names of the men who’d threatened him.

He also failed to identify them in his defence statement to the court. But while giving evidence, he gave the court their names as L-J and Barney.

Gabbidon told officers that he had popped back to the flat to collect belongings during the three weeks the men were allegedly running their drugs operation there, and had gone back to sleep on the night of the police raid because he was ‘didn’t want to sleep in his car again.’

Mr Lynch added that Gabbidon had been running a ‘little drugs factory’ from the flat, adding: “He is a drug dealer and was making substantial amounts of money.

"He was sleeping on the sofa in the living room in his boxer shorts.

"There was no mention of there being anyone else, no suggestion he was under threat.

"There’s a number of days when Mr Gabbidon could have fled, or gone to the police. His account is a total lie.”

The court was told that the £54,000 income Gabbidon had declared was mostly cash payments into his bank accounts.

Mr Lynch said: “That’s not someone who’s helping with assembling Ikea flat pack furniture from time to time.

“Why would these drug dealers pick his house at random and store drugs and money there? How would they know he wasn’t going to the police?”

Defence counsel Ahmed Muen said that police had tested both the shotgun and pistol and found none of his client’s DNA on them.

He added that police had never tested the money or drugs for fingerprints.

"We have no DNA link with Mr Gabbidon and any of the items. Why would they have 30 phones? 30 phones suggests multiple people.”

He also said that there had been no mention of Gabbidon’s name in the phones.

"There’s reference made to ‘J’ or Jackie,” he said. “It was put to him that he was J. Where’s the evidence for that? What kind of drug dealer would pay their cash into a bank account? That would raise suspicions.”

He said that his client had been acting under duress and had previously been stabbed so was aware of what the outcome could be.

"He was scared for his and his son’s life,” said Mr Muen.

"These people are dangerous. Criminal gangs prey on the innocent and they look for opportunities. They found one in Mr Gabbidon.”

Gabbidon denies possession of a sawn-off shotgun, modification of an imitation firearm, possession of crack cocaine, heroin, powder cocaine, amphetamine and cannabis with intent to supply them.

The jury spent three hours considering their verdict yesterday and will return to deliberations this morning.