TWO men from Walsall have been jailed after police found sawn-off shotguns under the seats of a car.
Firearms officers pulled over the Citroen C3 driven by Yasir Nassir at 5am on September 10 last year in Newtown Row, Birmingham.
They spotted shotgun cartridges in the rear seat footwell and a search of the car – in which Kuldipsingh Atwal was a passenger – uncovered two short-barrelled firearms, plus a starter pistol, hidden under the seats.
Subsequent searches of 45-year-old Nassir's home in Moncrieffe Street, Walsall, uncovered another shotgun, a silencer, two air rifles, pellets and blank 6mm cartridges.
Both Nassir and 49-year-old Atwal, from Stafford Street in Walsall, denied knowledge of the guns but refused to answer any police questions when interviewed.
Nassir went on to admit possessing firearms with Atwal found guilty on the same offences and at Birmingham Crown Court on Friday (March 10) they were jailed for seven and eight years respectively.
West Midlands Police Detective Inspector Vanessa Eyles said the tough sentences should act as a warning to anyone possessing illegal firearms.
She said: "This was a great piece of police work: intelligence suggested the car was linked to firearms and the information proved spot on. Firearms officers did a brilliant job in safely stopping the car, arresting the man and securing the weapons.
"Atwal and Nassir tried to distance themselves from the weapons but that's not easy when you're driving around in a car in the early hours of the morning with them at your feet.
"We had no evidence these shotguns had been fired in anger but possession alone leaves offenders facing many years behind bars. This result is a strong message to the criminal fraternity that holding illegal weapons will be dealt with severely by us and the courts."
Both men have previous convictions for violent offences. Atwal was convicted in 2011 at Wolverhampton Crown Court for robbery and jailed for three years, while Nassir was given a four-and-a-half year sentence, also for robbery, at Lincoln Crown Court in 2010.
They spotted shotgun cartridges in the rear seat footwell and a search of the car – in which Kuldipsingh Atwal was a passenger – uncovered two short-barrelled firearms, plus a starter pistol, hidden under the seats.
Subsequent searches of 45-year-old Nassir's home in Moncrieffe Street, Walsall, uncovered another shotgun, a silencer, two air rifles, pellets and blank 6mm cartridges.
Both Nassir and 49-year-old Atwal, from Stafford Street in Walsall, denied knowledge of the guns but refused to answer any police questions when interviewed.
Nassir went on to admit possessing firearms with Atwal found guilty on the same offences and at Birmingham Crown Court on Friday (March 10) they were jailed for seven and eight years respectively.
West Midlands Police Detective Inspector Vanessa Eyles said the tough sentences should act as a warning to anyone possessing illegal firearms.
She said: "This was a great piece of police work: intelligence suggested the car was linked to firearms and the information proved spot on. Firearms officers did a brilliant job in safely stopping the car, arresting the man and securing the weapons.
"Atwal and Nassir tried to distance themselves from the weapons but that's not easy when you're driving around in a car in the early hours of the morning with them at your feet.
"We had no evidence these shotguns had been fired in anger but possession alone leaves offenders facing many years behind bars. This result is a strong message to the criminal fraternity that holding illegal weapons will be dealt with severely by us and the courts."
Both men have previous convictions for violent offences. Atwal was convicted in 2011 at Wolverhampton Crown Court for robbery and jailed for three years, while Nassir was given a four-and-a-half year sentence, also for robbery, at Lincoln Crown Court in 2010.
Read more at http://www.walsalladvertiser.co.uk/8203-sawn-off-shotgun-pair-yasir-nassir-and-kuldipsingh-atwal-from-walsall-jailed/story-30202881-detail/story.html#4OMOVC9BE7S78sCV.99
No comments:
Post a Comment