Includes weapons like …40,000 AK47s, 30,000 Rifles, 10,000 9mm Pistols,
Left - Gary Hyde |
An
arms dealer who helped ship thousands of AK47 assault rifles and millions of
rounds of ammunition from China to Nigeria has been jailed for seven years. Gary Hyde, 43, moved the weapons
without a licence and hid more than one million US dollars - £620,460 - in
commission payments.
Hyde, from Newton on Derwent, near
York, looked tearful as he was sentenced at London’s Southwark Crown Court
following his conviction for two counts of breaching UK trade controls and
concealing criminal property.
The
deal between the two countries’ governments was lawful, but Judge Nicholas Loraine-Smith said
middleman Hyde was caught out by his
own greed.
He
failed to apply for a licence to take part in the deal, fearing it would be
refused, but also because he was attracted by the 'enormous profits' to be
made, the judge said.
Hyde, who was supported in court by his
family, legitimately ran and expanded wholesale business York Guns to the point
where it employed 20 staff in 2003. He helped broker various arms deals
including some for the British Government.
But
in 2006 he got involved in the deal between China and Nigeria which saw up to
40,000 AK47s, 30,000 rifles and 10,000 9mm pistols go to Nigeria along with 32
million rounds of ammunition.
He
was also found guilty of one count of concealing criminal property between
March 2006 and December 2008 after he hid the profits in a bank in
Liechtenstein.
Hyde, who was of previous good character
and served as a special constable for seven years, was also reluctant to apply
for a licence lest the UK authorities discovered his tax haven account and his 'very substantial earnings', the
judge said.
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