Rogue dealer supplied gangsters with guns

A ROGUE firearms dealer has been found guilty of supplying illegal handguns and home-made bullets linked to more than 100 crime scenes, including three murders.

Paul Edmunds, 66, imported a Colt pistol used in a fatal shooting at a London nightclub and supplied ammunition used in two other killings and an attempt to shoot down a police helicopter. Crime scenes in West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire were among those connected to his operation.

A jury at Birmingham Crown Court heard Edmunds, of Hardwicke, Gloucestershire, was arrested in 2015 at his home, where he had three armouries and seven wheeled bin-loads of gun and bullet components.

The registered gun dealer was caught after experts saw a growing trend for pre-war pistols being used in shootings.

As well as legally importing antique weapons, he falsified customs paperwork to bring in more modern prohibited firearms from the United States.

A two-month re-trial was told Edmunds and middleman Dr Mohinder Surdhar – likened by police to characters in the TV series

Breaking Bad – acted together to supply revolvers and custommade ammunition to criminals.

Surdhar, 56, from Handsworth, Birmingham, admitted conspiracy to supply firearms and ammunition before Edmunds’ trial. The court heard that the pair had first met at a gun fair.

Det Con Phil Rodgers, who led the police investigation, said: “Their actions have had a devastating impact on communities by fuelling violent crime, leading to fear and bloodshed.”

Edmunds is due to be sentenced next month.