Graham Reeds first CPS in-house Principal Crown Advocate, Organised Crime Division appointed queen's counsel.

"I saw joining the CPS as a great career move, and it turns out that I was right to follow my instincts in that respect. I have never regretted it."

Graham Reeds was called to the Bar in 1984 and joined the CPS as one of its first three Principal Crown Advocates in May 2006. Based in York, he prosecutes some of the most serious and complex cases that the Service deals with, including drug and people trafficking and money laundering.

In 2006 very few senior people who had been successful at the private bar had decided to make the switch to employment. Initially, he said, some of his colleagues were sceptical. "A very small minority saw it as jumping ship, but most were generous and wished me well. Secretly however, I think, they had money on the prospects of me returning to chambers within couple of years."

"I saw it as a great career move, and it turns out that I was right to follow my instincts in that respect. I have never regretted it." Graham found that conducting cases at this level regularly pitted him against QCs for the defence, and in front of judges who would later act as assessors in his applications for silk. He commented: "The principal benefit of the CPS is that I was given all the time I needed to prepare these cases well. This is key. There has never been a time in my three years here that I have ever felt underprepared. The casework support has been tremendous and all my team are just down the corridor in case there is anything that needs to be done quickly."

Case study

A case which saw eight defendants involved in an international drug ring convicted and sentenced to a total of 112 years was prosecuted solely in-house.

CPS Organised Crime Division Principal Crown Advocate, Graham Reeds, was counsel on the case, which was the first case he undertook on joining the Service from the Bar in May 2006.

"The case involved eight defendants, four of whom were foreign nationals, and a journey which started in Brazil and ended off the coast of Ireland, with a yacht intercepted by Customs officers and found to contain 90kg of cocaine," said Graham.

"The evidence had to be collated and presented quickly in time for the first hearing at the Crown Court in order to demonstrate to the accused that there was no answer to the evidence except to plead guilty.

"Four of the accused did this at the first hearing, including the main organiser. A fifth pleaded guilty later when he realised how powerful the evidence against him was.

A further two defendants pleaded guilty after attempts to derail the trial failed, with the final defendant Paul Jorgenson being found guilty after a seven-day trial.  The jury took just two hours to return a unanimous verdict.

At Preston Crown Court, defendants Lee Morgan and Johan Ranft were each jailed for 16 years. Erwin Kapitein and his girlfriend Odezia de Silva, and Ranft's brother Gerhardus, were jailed for 13, 11 and 12 years respectively. James Downie and Paul Jorgenson were both sentenced to 15 years, and finally Stephen Hegarty was jailed for 13 years.

At the end of the trial, the 45 foot hunter yacht which had carried the cocaine was seized and forfeited to the Serious and Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) for the purposes of fighting organised crime.

The main organiser, Lee Morgan, is now the subject of a financial reporting order for the next 14 years. "He was a career criminal. When he is released, he will always be required to account immediately for any obvious wealth he is found in possession of. Failure to do so will result in it being removed and he may also be prosecuted."