Britain's biggest gun running gang jailed for 86 years » Communities » 24dash.com

A "thrill-seeking rich kid" who helped run the biggest gun running gang ever uncovered in the UK was jailed for 20 years today.

Businessman Kaleem Akhtar, 29, through a "desire for street cred and glory" teamed up with cage-fighting Liverpool hardman Paul Wilson and gangster Mudassar Ali selling an "assassins armoury" to the underworld, Manchester Crown Court heard.

They flooded the criminal underworld with handguns, silencers and bullets, packaged into assassins kits and sold at £1,700 a time.

The kits, described as "ballistic bling" became a status symbol favoured by violent street gangs and used in crimes in Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield, Leeds, Bradford and Scotland.

Such was the spread of the weapons they led to a "spike" in guncrime figures.

Today the seven members of the gang were sentenced to a total of 86 years at Manchester Crown Court.

There were gasps and tears from the public gallery as Akhtar, whose millionaire family run a shopping and warehouse business in Liverpool and Manchester, was jailed.

His family include an uncle who is a MP in Pakistan and grandfather a former government minister.

Judge Clement Golstone QC, said Akhtar was attracted by the "glamour and notoriety" of heavy criminals and gangs.

He added, "You were drawn to this conspiracy out of greed and a desire for street cred and glory. You have not brought glory to your family, which is well respected here and in Pakistan, you have brought shame and disgrace."

But all of the gang put "money and glory" before human life, he said.

Given a £350,000 home as a wedding gift by his family, Akhtar led a double life, at home the dutiful son with an arranged marriage, working in his millionaire family's clothing firm empire.

But behind his privileged and respectable background, self-styled "Big K" distributed the handguns to street gangs and major criminals.

Driving a top spec Range Rover, he spent much of his time in nightclubs, keeping two secret girlfriends and living the life of a mobster.

Each of the Russian-made Baikal handguns were brought from Lithuania to Essex, then taken in batches to Manchester by Lithuanian brothers Agnius, 26, and Edgaras Malcevas, 39.

But police had the gang under surveillance after uncovering one batch of weapons.

They were sold on to Mudasser Ali, 30, from Bradford, described as the "senior player".

Ali, jailed for 18 years today, recruited Akhtar and others as salesman and couriers.

Wilson, 37, a career criminal and drug dealer who lived in a £1 million house in Southport, Merseyside, bought the guns to sell on. He was jailed for 11 years six months.

Asaid Salim, 27, from Trafford, Greater Manchester, who packaged up the assassins' kits, was jailed for 10 years eight months.

All were convicted of conspiracy to possess firearms and ammunition with intent to enable another to endanger life.

Michael Peake, 44, from Liverpool, a courier for Wilson was jailed for nine years for possession of firearms.

Agnius Malcevas was jailed for 12 years and ordered to be deported back to Lithuania after his release. His brother Edgaras, was jailed for five years.

All of the weapons were originally self-loading, blank-firing gas handguns which can be sold legally for around £100 in some European countries.

But every one had been expertly stripped down and re-barrelled, converting them to fire 9mm bullets, as accurate and powerful as factory-made weapons.

Police seized 29 Baikal guns supplied by Akhtar and others during operations in Manchester alone, along with 856 9mm bullets.

Another 27 from the same source have turned up across the country, but the 56 seized is "only a proportion" of the guns distributed by the gang.

In the UK Baikals were first noted by police in 2003 - but now more than 300 have been seized.

Det Sgt Jim Gray, who led the investigation for Greater Manchester Police, said: "I think the UK is a significantly safer place for us imprisoning these people.

"We have dismantled one significant gun running team into the North West. I'm very pleased to see they are starting very significant sentences today."