Woman smuggled military grade guns and heroin
A woman has been sentenced to nine years in prison for smuggling military-grade weapons, ammunition and heroin into the UK.
Kasha Sanderson, 40, was stopped at Dover Eastern Docks in February last year.
Border Force officers found 13 firearms, around 300 rounds of ammunition and 5kg of heroin hidden in his car.
National Crime Agency branch commander Rachel Bramley said: “Firearm crime in the UK remains among the lowest in the world, but these weapons had the potential to cause horrific damage.”
He added: “These horrific weapons and ammunition came from the hands of extremely dangerous criminals.”
Sanderson was stopped on February 24 last year after arriving by ferry from Calais in a Peugeot 3008 registered at Naishcombe Hill, Wick, Bristol, Ireland.
When asked what he was doing abroad, he told the police that he was scattering his ashes in Lyon, France.
He was sentenced at Canterbury Crown Court on Thursday.
13 hidden weapons were found [NCA]
The NCA said Border Force officers searched the vehicle and found two custom-made leathers in the footwells.
Inside were 13 weapons, including two Skorpion submachine guns, an Uzi submachine gun, a Glock pistol and nine converted blank-firing pistols.
Police officers also seized 289 bullets and 5kg of heroin, which investigators said had an estimated street value of around £500,000.
Unemployed Sanderson was arrested. He claimed that during the interviews he thought he was smuggling marijuana.
He later admitted importing firearms, ammunition and Class A drugs and was sentenced on Thursday.
The weapons were in a hidden compartment in the footwell of the vehicle. [NCA]
Bramley said: “In recent years we have seen the tragic consequences of completely innocent victims being caught in the crossfire of criminals with automatic weapons such as Skorpion submachine guns.
“With Sanderson imprisoned, the organized crime group behind this smuggling scheme lost a trusted courier and lost the ability to funnel profits into other crimes.”
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