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Wolverhampton drug man tried to buy gun from deputy sheriff

A drug addict who tried to import a Beretta handgun into the UK for his dealer was rumbled when the American arms seller he contacted turned out to be a Deputy Sheriff, a court heard.

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Deputy Sheriff Marc Wagner first thought the brazen efforts of heroin user Jai Paul Kanda, of Ettingshall, Wolverhampton, were so obvious they were an elaborate prank.

Kanda, of Grosvenor Road, used his own email address, sent messages showing his mobile number and even offered payment with his own bank card.

When the defendant suggested the package could slip through customs more easily if it was broken down into pieces to be re-assembled in this country, and persisted with emails over the course of one month, Mr Wagner alerted authorities.

The Deputy Sheriff also recorded the only phone conversation he had with the defendant, and voice recognition experts confirmed the match before Kanda was charged, Mr David Bennett, prosecuting, said.

When police raided Kanda's house, they also found the casing of a bullet-proof vest, although the armour was not inside. Kanda was jailed for three-and-a-half years at Wolverhampton Crown Court.

Passing sentence, Judge Nicholas Webb said: "You were prepared to import a lethal firearm which you must have known would be utilised if necessary by criminals.

"A bullet-proof vest casing was recovered, which clearly also causes concern. There was a background to this offence of serious organised crime."

Kanda, who was already serving a jail term of two years and three months for false imprisonment, admitted one charge of attempting to purchase a firearm, a 9mm Beretta Px4, without lawful authority between February 28, 2011 and April 16, 2011.

The court heard the delay in the case coming to court, which meant the 32-year-old was not sentenced for both crimes at the same time, was down to the difficulty getting statements from Mr Wagner in America.

Mr Bennett told the court: "The defendant contacted a legitimate arms dealer seeking to purchase and import a Beretta 9mm handgun.

"If he succeeded, it would have been a prohibited weapon in the UK. The arms dealer he spoke to was Deputy Sheriff Marc Wagner and he was aware a gun should not be imported into the UK.

"They had a protracted email conversation in which they discussed importation which would avoid detection.

"The defendant offered to pay more if it could be imported piece by piece."

Mr Jed O'Connor, defending, stressed his client admitted his crime, and had engaged so well with prison programmes that he was a trusted mentor for other inmates on a literacy programme. He added he was no longer 'drug-addled but drug free'.

Judge Webb told Kanda the three-and-a-half year term would run after the expiry of his present sentence of 27 months, handed to him in March.

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