10 YEARS FOR GUN & DRUGS SMUGGLER

20 May 2005 04:15 PM

A man has been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for firearms and drugs offences, following a successful HM Revenue & Customs investigation.

41-year-old Mark Sharpe of Birchington, Kent, pleaded guilty to four counts of importing firearms, silencers, ammunition and cocaine. His car was intercepted by UK Customs officers at Coquelles on 13 February 2005 and a search revealed 4 handguns concealed within boxes of Stella Artois lager. In addition, Sharpe was also found to be carrying a loaded handgun and 752grams of cocaine concealed beneath the insoles of his shoes.

Kevin Davis, Assistant Chief Investigation Officer said:

"Tackling the smuggling of prohibited firearms and Class A drugs which cause serious harm to our communities is a high priority for HMRC and we continually work together with our partners in law enforcement to make our communities a safer place to live in. This sentence sends out a clear signal to anyone contemplating smuggling illegal weapons or drugs that they face lengthy custodial sentences".

Sharpe received a seven-year sentence for the firearms offences and three years for the drugs charges, to run consecutively.

This case was successfully prosecuted by the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office (RCPO). RCPO is an independent prosecuting authority which reports to the Attorney General, and is responsible for the prosecution of all HMRC cases.

Notes for editors

1. Mark Sharpe was stopped by UK Customs officers at the port of Coquelles on 13 February 2005.

2. On 25 April 2005 Mark Sharpe pleaded guilty to four counts of importing firearms, silencers, ammunition and cocaine.

3. The firearms were: four Italian manufactures BBM Mod.315 Auto blank firing pistols, originally designed for use with blank firing cartridges but modified to fire live .25 ammunition; one Italian manufactured Valtro Mod. 85 Combat blank firing pistol modified to fire live .32 ammunition; four sound modifiers (silencers); 89 unfored .25 and 25 unfired .32 calibre cartridges.

4. RCPO was created by Royal Assent on 7th April 2005. An independent prosecuting authority, RCPO reports directly to the Attorney General, and is responsible for prosecuting some of the largest drug and fraud cases in the UK.

Issued by HM Revenue and Customs Press Office

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