GANG WHO SMUGGLED GUNS FROM AMERICA TO CITY JAILED
FOUR men convicted of smuggling handguns from the USA to Bristol have been jailed for a total of 51 years.
Bristol Crown Court heard an undercover cop called “Jimmy” infiltrated an organised crime group, enabling Avon and Somerset Police to prevent three viable firearms and ammunition from ending up on the streets.
Three brand-new Taurus handguns were bought in Atlanta, Georgia, and concealed in bluetooth speakers, before being posted to addresses in Fishponds in Bristol and Hackney in London.
As a result of the UK police operation, officers in Miami were able to intercept a package containing 330 rounds of ammunition, also hidden in a speaker, before it could be exported.
The investigation was supported by Homeland Security Investigations and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms in the USA.
Five men were charged in connection with their involvement in the illegal importation of firearms.
They are:
» Alcot Flemming, 44, of Quarry Lane, Lawrence Weston
» Kenville Hall, 30, of Frampton Crescent, Fishponds
» Busiso Benjamin, 30, of Gorse Hill, Fishponds
All three admitted two counts of conspiring to supply a firearm and Hall also admitted a charge of conspiring to possess ammunition.
» Rhaffeek Morson, 30, of Stanway Court, Hackney, admitted one count of conspiring to supply a firearm.
» Nico Lacroix, 23, of Frampton Crescent, Fishponds, admitted a charge of encouraging or assisting the commission of an offence.
Judge James Patrick jailed the men as follows: Hall, 17 years and two months; Benjamin, 12 years; Flemming; 10 years and six months; Morson, 11 years and five months.
He said: “Gun crime terrorises lawabiding people in this country.
“Guns are there for no other reason than to kill, maim, terrorise and intimidate. Each one of you was prepared to play your part in putting lethal weapons into the hands of criminals.
“Fortunately, they did not reach their intended recipients.”
The judge commended the work of under cover police officer “Jimmy” in bringing the men to justice.
Earlier he gave Lacroix a fourmonth jail term, suspended for two years, after Lacroix admitted signing for two parcels containing guns, believing they contained “California weed”.
Richard Posner, prosecuting, told Bristol Crown Court undercover officer Jimmy worked as a paint sprayer at Fishponds trading estate, where he met Alcot Flemming.
Flemming told Jimmy two relatives had guns for sale, and Hall and Benjamin sold him firearms and ammunition for £11,500, imported from the USA to the UK.
The court heard the firearms, which were brand new and unused, would almost certainly have fallen into the hands of those wishing to cause harm to others.
Mr Posner said the crime group used social media chat groups to coordinate their illicit enterprise and evidence showed they spent November 2019 arranging for the firearms to be bought in Atlanta and posted to the UK.
Richard Posner, Senior Crown Advocate for the CPS, said: “This was a complex and challenging case that succeeded thanks to effective cooperation between Avon & Somerset Police and multiple agencies, both in the UK and abroad.”