A physiotherapist from Birmingham has been imprisoned for 14 years for supplying ammunition and guns to gangs. He supplied weapons that were used in three murders, and several other crimes.
Mohinder Surdhar, 58, from Grove Lane in Handsworth had admitted earlier at a hearing to a single count of conspiracy to transfer prohibited weapons and ammunition. Surdhar would use his authentic firearms certificate to procure weapons that were said to have been sold by co-conspirators for up to £3,000, Mail Online reported.
Surdhar and the arms supplier, Paul Edmunds, 65, were together supplying guns and ammunition linked to more than 100 crimes in the United Kingdom. A UK court sentenced Edmunds to 30 years in jail in December last year.
While sentencing the physiotherapist, Judge Richard Bond at Birmingham Crown Court told Surdhar that he had broken the trust that was vested in him as a licensed owner of firearms, that included a sniper rifle with a range of up to two miles.
“You were a physiotherapist with a PhD, well-educated and well-respected in your field. In short, over a period of several years you acted as the fulcrum in the supply of prohibited weapons and ammunition to criminal gangs,” the judge told Surdhar.
Trials of other defendants involved in the conspiracy heard that police across the country started to recover antique handguns and specially made ammunition from crime scenes from 2014, according to the statement from National Ballistics Intelligence Service. During the previous hearings, which led to the conviction of more than a dozen men, including Gloucestershire-based gun dealer Paul Edmunds, it was said that Surdhar acted as a middleman.
“During his trial, the court heard Edmunds was arrested at his home in 2015, where he had three armories and used to make ammunition to fit antique weapons,” said the statement.
The judge also told Surdhar that it is impossible to say how many weapons he had supplied over the years, but it appears that he supplied hundreds of guns to the gang. “Even to this day, weapons sold by you are still being seized from crime scenes,” he said.
Law officers said that Edmunds was a registered firearms dealer from Gloucester. He knew how to source, purchase, import and later supply these guns and ammunition that were prohibited to Surdhar. The physiotherapist would then sell these to the criminals.
“The weapons and ammunition have been directly linked to crimes across nine police forces, including murders, attempted murders and the 2011 Birmingham riots when shots were fired at the West Midlands Police helicopter,” said the crown prosecution service (CPS), the Hindustan Times reported.