TWO men who were caught with a loaded revolver when armed police stopped their car and the two Coventry men who had supplied it to them have been jailed for a total of more than 34 years.
Matthew McKeown and Daniel Sheridan had both pleaded not guilty to conspiring to transfer a firearm and ammunition to Waqar Iftakhar and Birmingham take-away boss Mohammed Mirza.
But following a trial at Birmingham Crown Court they were found guilty by the jury who also convicted Iftakhar of possessing the gun and bullets.
The case was then adjourned for them to be sentenced with Mirza who had pleaded guilty to possessing the gun and ammunition.
And at Warwick Crown Court, where Judge Sarah Buckingham, who heard the trial, is now sitting, McKeown (27) of Norman Place Road, Coventry, and Sheridan (26) of Glencoe Road, Coventry, were both jailed for nine years.
Iftakhar (31) who is from Birmingham but of no fixed address, was also jailed for nine years.
Mirza (33) of Treaford Lane, Alum Rock, Birmingham, was jailed for a total of seven-and-a-half years – five years and four months for the firearm offences, with a consecutive 26-month term for cultivating cannabis, which he had also admitted.
Judge Buckingham outlined that in August 2017 Iftakhar and another man, who is still wanted by the police, met up with McKeown and Sheridan.
The next day Iftikhar collected Mirza and the other man in a Mercedes car and drove to Coventry where he parked outside an address in Scotts Lane.
“The only purpose was to collect that weapon that Mr McKeown had in an Armani bag,” said the judge.
And she told Iftakhar: “From that moment on, you had possession and control of that lethal weapon ready for immediate use or onward transfer.”
But as they drove back to Birmingham armed police, who had been targeting the missing man, stopped the car and found the bag containing the gun and ammunition in the passenger footwell where Mirza was sitting.
The revolver had cartridges in it, three of which were spent, and there were a further 15 live rounds in the bag.
When Mirza was searched, he had a utility bill for a flat in High Street, Erdington, and the key to a stolen Ford Focus.
Outside the address officers found the Focus, which Mirza admitted handling, and in the flat the electric meter had been by-passed and there was a cannabis factory with 100 mature plants.
Prosecutor Jas Jandu said all four men had previous convictions, with Sheridan and Iftakhar both having served long prison sentences for robbery, but none for firearms offences.
Balbir Singh, for Mirza, said: “He had a take-away which was not going well, and he was asked to sublet the rooms upstairs, and he agreed to do so in the knowledge of what it was to be used for. He received, instead of £about £400 a month rent, £1,000.”
And of the firearms matter, Mr Singh said: “There is no connection between him and the Coventry defendants apart from through Iftakhar.
“The gun has nothing to do with him, he was in the car and the bag was at his feet. He accepts he knew there was a gun in the bag.”
But Judge Buckingham observed: “There was an agreement for the collection of this gun, and that is what they have all pleaded guilty to.”
Delroy Henry, for McKeown, said: “I accept an association with serious crime, but whether one can go so far as to say it was for deadly purpose, I would ask Your Honour to step back from.”
Ian Jobling, for Sheridan, made the point: “He was not subject to surveillance, although he was obviously a close friend of Mr McKeown, because he was at his home.”
Jailing the four, Judge Buckingham said: “The conspiracy involved McKeown and Sheridan transferring the ammunition and firearm to a car driven by Iftakhar, and with Mirza in the passenger seat.
“Where they were intended to end up, and for what purpose they were intended to be used, is unknown, and there’s no evidence any of the defendants would have been involved in the next stage.
“But a gun loaded with live ammunition and 15 further rounds could well have been intended to be used for deadly purpose or, very certainly, for a very serious criminal purpose.
“All the defendants were prepared to become involved in this, whether for money or for any other purpose is unknown.
“McKeown and Sheridan, this was a planned and carefully thought through agreement to pass over a loaded firearm and ammunition. It involved the use of burner phones and sim cards.
“Iftakhar, you drove over to Coventry and parked outside Sheridan’s address. The only purpose was to collect that weapon that McKeown had in an Armani bag.
“From that moment on you had possession and control of that lethal weapon ready for immediate use or onward transfer.
“Mirza, when you were arrested for the firearm offence the keys to a property you were involved with were seized, and a full-blown cannabis factory was found there.
“There is no evidence anyone else was involved. There is only your word that you were subletting the flat.”
