Watch police rumble ruthless gangsters who supplied 'assassination kits' in Midlands

Yahoo

6 hours ago

This is the moment police officers rumbled a major weapons gang supplying 'assassination kits' to the Midlands' criminal underworld.
Gary Hardy, 62, was a key player in 'one of the largest gun factory operations in the East Midlands', said Nottinghamshire Police.
He sold the kits with co-conspirator 64-year-old Ronald Knowles, who acquired blank firing handguns and ammunition which he converted into viable weapons.
READ MORE: Sixty years for ruthless 'assassination kit' gang who sold guns to Midland gangsters
They were then packaged as 'assassination kits' containing a handgun, a silencer, magazine and ammunition wrapped in latex gloves.
Nottinghamshire Police told how the deadly kits were then sent across the country and later recovered in places including the West Midlands and Essex.
The majority of kits were seized in the West Midlands - although none of the seized firearms had been used.
Bodycam footage, shared by Nottinghamshire Police following sentencing, shows how a seemingly innocent looking box was found by officers to contain a bag containing four assassination kits.
Evidence revealed at least 33 firearms had been manufactured in the gang's factory.
Accomplices Steven Houston, 65 and 23-year-old Jason Hill were sentenced alongside Hardy and Knowles on Friday June 27 at Nottingham Crown Court.
Nottinghamshire Police said the gang, including Hardy, were jailed for a combined 65 years and six months. Read more on that here.
In his sentencing remarks, Judge Mark Watson said: 'The firearms were sold as part of what have rightly been described as 'assassination kits'.
"You were in business together and you each brought your own set of skills and contacts to this enterprise.
'Each of you contributed in different but important ways. This was an ongoing enterprise brought to an end only by police intervention.'