Brothers jailed after huge arms cache discovered
TWO brothers have been jailed after firearms including a ‘‘made for killing’’ submachine gun were found stashed in a Birmingham outbuilding.
The huge arms cache was discovered after armed cops raided their home in Small Heath.
A court was told Azim Hussain, 34, tried to delay West Midlands Police officers at the front door of the Mansell Road property while his older brother, Noweed, 39, ran out the back to hide the guns and ammunition. Two bags were discovered by officers during a search of the property in an outhouse.
In an Armani pouch they found a 9mm self-loading handgun, “ready for use” with a bullet loaded into the barrel and another bullet in the magazine. Next to this was a Nike sports bag containing a shortened shotgun in three parts, an M3 0.45 calibre submachine gun and a magazine, and a Webley 0.38 calibre revolver.
Also in the bag was a .45 calibre bullet, a shotgun under-grip, 35 shotgun
cartridges, 15 9mm cartridge cases re-fitted with ball bearings, two 9mm cartridges and a .45 calibre cartridge.
Azim attempted to take all the responsibility for the firearms, claiming he was looking after them for someone else he wouldn’t name, and insisting Noweed was entirely innocent.
However, evidence presented in court proved this to be a lie. Officers’
body-worn video and expert witnesses showed Noweed had in fact stashed the guns and ammunition in the outhouse.
At an earlier appearance at Birmingham Crown Court, Azim pleaded guilty to six counts of possession of firearms and ammunition. Noweed pleaded not guilty to possession of the firearms and ammunition, but a jury unanimously found him to be guilty.
Azim was jailed for seven years and Noweed for three years.
Detective Constable Darren Wilkie, from force CID, led the police investigation which saw armed cops raid the brothers’ home on July 16 last year.
He said: “You do not need to be a weapons expert to understand the damage a submachine gun – made for killing in World War Two – could do on the busy streets of Birmingham.
“The fact that the handgun was loaded with a real bullet in the barrel shows that they were ready for use, either by Azim and Noweed or other people. I believe that our investigation has saved lives.
“We may never know what the brothers were planning but I suspect these were tools to commit serious crime.
“Thanks to the information we received and the action we took, four guns and 56 bullets are now in our secure store ready to be destroyed.”