Men caught out as police replace gun with tracker Pair jailed as firearm ordered from America intercepted by officers
TWO laughing friends waited for a gun to arrive from America only to discover they had been tricked by police.
Officers listened in to Southport man Paul Craig and friend Jason Sri-In, also known as Jason Srin, as they sat in a block of flats in Liverpool city centre and unwrapped what they thought was a semi-automatic handgun.
To their despair officers had intercepted the parcel and it was carefully reassembled and sent on although instead of a gun there was a tracker device.
They desperately tried to ditch the empty parcel but police caught up with them after listening in to their conversations.
Liverpool Crown Court heard they were part of a wider enterprise who had arranged for the gun to be brought to Liverpool.
Julia Faure Walker, prosecuting, explained the package was intercepted on January 25 this year in the United States.
When it was inspected it was discovered the parcel contained a Glock 17 pistol with a magazine and ammunition.
Ms Faure Walker explained a “controlled delivery” was sent to an address in Preston in which the “weapons and other items were not transported to the UK”.
An hour after the package was delivered on January 27 this year a “car arrived at the address and the parcel was brought into the car”.
Ms Faure Walker said: “Two people in the car transported it to Liverpool.”
Explaining the men in the car were not the defendants she added: “Clearly arrangements had been made for others to receive the package to pass on to the defendants.”
After receiving the parcel Craig is heard to ask “what it had come in” which Ms Faure Walker explained was thought to be a reference to how it had been concealed.
She said: “They arranged to meet at Tesco Express on Union Street in
Liverpool. A car arrived shortly before 6pm and the driver got out.”
The driver then returned with the package which was passed to Craig who then met up with Sri-In.
Ms Faure Walker said: “They were laughing and appeared to know each other.”
Surveillance officers watched on as they went into a block of flats on Union Street and listened in while they opened the package.
Ms Faure Walker said: “At 6.09pm the defendants opened the package.”
She explained one of the defendants had “received instructions about opening it on his phone”.
They were heard speaking about what they expected to find with SriIn saying “It’s in there, I see it”.
The court heard how the men wore rubber gloves to “avoid leaving a forensic trail” as they opened up what they thought would be a gun.
Ms Faure Walker said: “At this point video footage shows the second defendant closest to the parcel and carefully unwrapping it.”
One of the men then said: “There’s nothing in there” and later “You’ve been had off mate”.
Ms Faure Walker clarified it isn’t thought Craig arranged the delivery of the parcel.
As they continued to open the package the “first defendant said there was a flashing red light” after which one of the men stated “it’s a tracker” followed by a conversation about how to ditch the parcel.
One of the hopeful defendants was heard to comment “there are bullets in there” but Ms Faure Walker confirmed there were not.
At about 7.20pm the men were seen leaving the block of flats and were “later seen at the rear of the building” during which one of the men said: “It must have got intercepted and they’ve swiped them.”
The court heard the package was found behind bins on Union Street.
Craig was arrested at Moorfields Station where he said: “It’s not mine, it’s nothing to do with me.” Sri-In was arrested on February 2.
Neither Sri-In nor Craig have any previous convictions.
Jason Smith, defending Craig, asked the judge to consider that he had pleaded guilty adding “it is clear he was taking instruction from others involved in the enterprise”.
Mr Smith said: “The type of sentence will have a significant impact upon a young man and a man without previous convictions or experience of the criminal system.”
Steven Swift, defending Sri-In, said: “Like his co-accused he has no previous convictions which is unusual for a case of this nature.”
Mr Swift explained he has had “some family difficulties”.
He told the court Sri-In has a four-year-old daughter.
Craig, of Leybourne Avenue, and Sri-In, of Water Street, Liverpool city centre both admitted attempted possession of a prohibited firearm.
Judge Robert Trevor-Jones, sentencing, said: “Paul Craig, Jason SriIn, you’re both young men and this is your first appearance before the court but it is in relation to the very serious offence of attempted possession of a prohibited weapon.”
The judge said the defendants were “clearly not the only two people involved in this enterprise”.
They were both jailed for four and a half years.