Crooks bought antique guns in Leicestershire

A ‘BREAKING BAD’ style gun duo bought antique weapons from Leicestershire and sold them on to a gangster with home-made bullets.

Respected physiotherapist Dr Mohinder Surdhar bought more than 50 antique weapons in the county between 2009-15.

He passed many of them on to jailed gangster Sundish Nazran - along with ammunition supplied by firearms fanatic Paul Edmunds or made on his own bullet presses.

Four of the weapons have since been recovered by police at crime scenes - including a revolver used in the aftermath of the 2011 riots to shoot at a police helicopter in Birmingham.

The pair met at a gun fair in 2008 and their relationship led to a gun crime spike across the UK.

Ammunition made by Paul Edmunds in the garage of his Gloucester village home was recovered by detectives at the scene of more than 100 shootings, including the notorious murder of Kenichi Phillips.

Edmunds’ handcrafted bespoke bullets for use in vintage weapons, like late 19th Century St Etienne and Smith & Wesson revolvers, which he brought into the country legally as collector’s items.

In April this year a jury failed to reach a verdict over whether Edmunds conspired to transfer prohibited firearms and ammunition – but at Birmingham Crown Court he was found guilty by a jur

His accomplice, 56-year-old Surdhar from Grove Lane, Handsworth, had already admitted the same offence.

Edmunds was also found guilty on two counts of perverting the course of justice.

He was also convicted on two counts of Customs & Excise evasion – smuggling Colts and their component parts into the UK from the USA between 2009 and 2015, and taking 6,000 rounds of ammunition to France via Eurostar in the boot of his car in July 2014.

He had previously been found guilty of transferring three Thompson Contender pistols to a firearms dealer who was not authorised to possess handguns – and trying to get around gun laws by screwing a metal bar into the handle to lengthen it and change the classification.

The pair are expected to be sentenced next month.

Detective Constable Phil Rodgers from West Midlands Police Regional Crime Unit, who led the investigation, likened the pair to unlikely crooks Walter White and Jesse Pinkman from hit TV show Breaking Bad.

“But this was no TV drama – these were real weapons; real bullets; real victims.

“Their actions have had a devastating impact on communities by fuelling violent crime, leading to fear and bloodshed.

“Edmunds has an encyclopaedic knowledge of firearms. It’s not an easy task making obsolete calibre bullets to fit antique guns; it would have taken several days to make a box of 50. Surdhar also had an armoury at his home and we believe Edmunds was teaching him the art of bullet making.

“Our investigation has undoubtedly prevented many more firearms and countless rounds of ammunition getting into criminal hands…and in all likelihood saved lives.”

“Edmunds claimed he had no idea Surdhar was passing the guns to criminals…we didn’t believe him and clearly neither did the jury.

“In interview he spoke candidly about his disdain for the UK’s strict laws on firearms and the handgun ban introduced in the wake of the Dunblane tragedy.

“And he’s used his position of authority in the firearms world to help him bring guns into the country undetected.”