As part of Operation Bitavoid the defendant was arrested on 18th March 2025 in possession of multiple counterfeit firearms with fully loaded magazines, ready for onward sale into the criminal underworld.
Also found was a “stash house” the defendant had established for the OCG. At the stash house the police found another handgun and component parts, tools to mend defects and a safe in which to store them. The defendant was also connected to two “auto sear” switches which would render any of the weapons in his possession fully automatic, thus rendering all the more desirable for the criminal market.
The defendant accepted possession of some of the items but advanced a late case of duress, as an ambush, two weeks before trial. The suggestion he was acting under duress was conclusively rebutted with extensive evidence from his phone and deployment of expert evidence concerning the nature of the weaponry in his possession. The jury rejected his account with the verdicts returned. After trial the defendant was convicted on all counts. He awaits sentence in December 2025.
Alex Matthews was instructed by Robert Hutchison of CPS Complex Casework Unit.
Alex is frequently instructed in cases of serious gang violence and those which involve firearms. She acts for both prosecution and defence in these serious matters.
Read the case of Farida Begum, acquitted of possession of firearm running duress here
