Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
DARK WEB DUO JAILED
Men tried to buy Glock pistols from undercover PSNI to arm UDA
TWO men who tried to buy guns from undercover PSNI officers on the “dark web” were jailed yesterday.
Police said the Glock pistols wanted by Thomas Morgan, 42, and Darren Bennett, 23, “may have been destined for use by the South East Antrim UDA”.
A lawyer told the court: “You are not dealing with a Professor Moriarty from Sherlock Holmes.”
TWO men were jailed yesterday after trying to buy handguns from undercover police officers.
The pair were involved in a plot to get the Glock pistols on the “dark web”.
Police said the guns “may have been destined for the UDA”.
The pair also tried to buy drugs in the “unsophisticated” plot with one of their lawyers saying the court was “not dealing with a Professor Moriarty”.
Belfast Crown Court heard the plots came undone because Darren Bennett, 23, who was handling the negotiations, was unaware he was dealing with two undercover police officers. When arrested at Yorkgate in North Belfast, he was wearing pyjamas,
Sentencing the men Judge Desmond Marrinan said the officers who foiled the plot were to be commended “for their undercover work”.
Bennett, of Church Road, Newtownabbey, Co Antrim, admitted conspiracy to possess two Glock pistols, ammunition and attempted possession of cocaine and MDMA in February last year. He was jailed for 20 months and got a further 28 months on licensed parole.
The same sentence was handed to 42-year-old Thomas Morgan, of Burnside Road, Doagh, Co Antrim, for conspiracy to possess the firearms to “enable another person to cause a person to believe or fear unlawful violence would be used against them”.
Money man Scott Colin Mcmurran, 26, of Highvale Gardens, Belfast, admitted helping Bennett gather £1,990 to buy the Class A drugs.
He was freed on 18 months probation after agreeing to complete 100 hours community service.
He had provided £300 of his own money which was added to £1,600 from Bennett who’d problems getting the monies from his bank account.
Detective Inspector Lynne
Knox, from the Paramilitary Crime Task Force, said: “We believe these weapons would have ended up under the control of paramilitaries who seek to rule communities with fear. “In this case we believe these weapons may have been destined for use by the South East Antrim UDA.
“These men were attempting to bring lethal weapons and drugs on to our streets. Guns are used for one purpose only – to kill and maim.” Defence barrister Mark Farrell described Bennett’s actions as “amateurish, unsophisticated and lacking strategy”. Saying Morgan had a low IQ, his counsel Greg Berry said: “This is not a criminal mastermind.”