A gangland middle-man handed over deadly weapons three times in less than 24 hours as he played a key role in a prolific gun supply network.
Robert Brazendale delivered an AK47 to one buyer, machine guns to a second customer and then another AK47 in a third deal.
He also hid guns in the back garden of a bungalow on a sleepy Warrington street.
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Jailed for more than a decade on Friday, Brazendale was branded a “quartermaster” and “essential cog in a machine running guns to other serious organised crime groups”.
The former electrician played a pivotal role in one of the most significant gun trading units in the North West.
Some of those he was in business with were on the frontline of gangland warfare - both as the targets of a shooting and in their plot for violent revenge.
As the trusted courier for gun dealer Umair Zaheer, an underworld firearms supplier with access to an arsenal of weapons that included some designated for military use, Brazendale was involved in a truly sinister network of criminality.
Operating under the codename AssassinsCreed, Zaheer used the shadowy communications network EncroChat to send stock lists to prospective customers and then arrange for transactions to be carried out.
Crucial to the 34-year-old’s enterprise was Brazendale.
The extent of the Warrington man’s involvement in this was showcased on April 15, 2020.
As the country was in lockdown, Brazendale was busy following Zaheer’s orders.
First, the 34-year-old drove his red Citroen van to deliver an AK47 assault rifle to a man in exchange for £10,500. That gun was later recovered near Wigan.
Later that day he rode his bicycle to the car park of a Tesco store in Thelwall, Warrington, and handed over Uzi and Skorpion machine guns, a Taurus Brasil revolver and 300 rounds of ammunition. He collected £37,000 for the sinister haul.
He was then dispatched to the same car park, where he put an AK47 and large quantity of ammunition into the boot of another man’s BMW.
The gun dealing network that Zaheer and Brazendale existed within was busted after EncroChat was hacked as part of an international operation that led to the messages shared by users being exposed to police.
Raids uncovered some of the guns referenced in the messages and suspects were arrested. Brazendale was among those questioned - but he then fled to Spain, sparking an international manhunt.
That ended in Estepona, Malaga, in October 2020 where he was arrested under the powers of a European Arrest Warrant after a joint operation to trace him by the National Crime Agency and Spanish National Police.
Days after he was caught, the NCA dug up the garden of a bungalow linked to him on Selworthy Drive, Warrington, and recovered a loaded Smith & Wesson pistol, a Grand Power semi-automatic pistol and ammunition.
The cache of weapons was split into two packages buried behind the property.
At the time of the discovery, as Brazendale was awaiting extradition, Paul Owen, NCA Investigations Manager, said: “A lot of effort had clearly been put into trying to hide these weapons which we believe are linked to serious and organised crime.
“We know that guns in the UK are commonly used by criminals to coerce, intimidate and carry out serious acts of violence.
“Through the diligence of our officers and support from partners, we’ve taken more deadly weapons out of circulation. We will continue to target offenders who bring firearms into our communities.”
The work that followed established the full extent of the network Brazendale and Zaheer were part of.
Brazendale admitted conspiring to transfer prohibited firearms and was sentenced to 11 years and three months.
Zaheer, of Somerset Road, Eccles, was sentenced to 25 years in jail after admitting conspiracy to possess firearms or ammunition with intent to endanger life; possession of firearms with intent to endanger life; conspiracy to supply cocaine and conspiracy to supply cannabis.
Following Friday's hearing at Manchester Crown Court, Neil Gardner, NCA operations manager, said: “The weapons we took off the street and out of the crime groups’ hands were some of the most lethal around with a truly devastating capability.
“In seizing these weapons, which are capable of firing multiple rounds per second, we have saved lives and protected the public.
“The offenders thought they were safe using encrypted comms, but working with the Crown Prosecution Service and Greater Manchester Police, we built a solid case that resulted in the men admitting their involvement.
“We will continue to do everything we can with partners at home and abroad to prevent organised crime groups trafficking firearms.”
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