‘We make a lot o’money bro’ – Dealers disguised US mail order guns as car parts to sell onto gangs

A Midlands trio imported US pistols and bullets disguised as ‘car parts’ in a mail order gun service before trying to sell them onto gangs, police revealed.

Sutton Coldfield man Dashan Caines, 46, was among three men convicted of importing the firearms and ammunition into the UK through the post – with plans to exchange them with organised criminals for cash.

Keston Joseph and Dion Roberts, both 33 and from Coventry, will also face jail after conspiring to acquire and sell prohibited weapons and ammunition.

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Audio messages from Roberts had instructed his contact in Florida “Shotta” to send the weapon in an insulated safe and: “Just show them as car parts innit”.

He also assured him: “We make a lot o’ money bro. We make a lot of paper, a lotta lotta o’ paper there to be made.”

Along with the messages, officers found a photo of Joseph holding a gun on his phone. The safe, with guns concealed inside, was found hidden in a bush with Caines’ DNA identified on the weapon.

A National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation was sparked after two semi-automatic pistols and hollow-point bullets were intercepted at Coventry Airport on January 24, 2020.

The weapons were concealed in an electronic safe in a package labelled as ‘car parts’ and had been sent from Orlando, Florida, Border Force officers found.

The parcel was addressed to a ‘John Bob Walton’ in Cambridge. Five days later, a man claiming to be Walton called Parcelforce asking where it was.

NCA investigators traced the number back to Roberts. Both Roberts and Joseph were stopped by the officers, supported by West Midlands Police, as they drove along King William Street in Coventry on January 31. Both were arrested.

Joseph was released under investigation but Roberts was remanded in custody and his phone seized.

Analysis of his messages showed that he had arranged the importation with a contact known as ‘Shotta’ – who was based in Florida.

Another semi-automatic pistol had been successfully imported two weeks prior to Roberts’ arrest, using the same method, the messages revealed.

And in audio messages, Roberts had told Shotta to send the weapon in a safe that was insulated with carbon paper and to “just show them as car parts innit”.

He also assured him: “We make a lot o’ money bro. We make a lot of paper, a lotta lotta o’ paper there to be made”.

When arranging the second importation, Roberts asked Shotta to include five rounds of ammunition with each gun.

Shotta warned against this as he thought they would give off a ‘certain smell’, but Roberts told him this wouldn’t matter due to the insulation in the safe.

Roberts and Joseph collected the package containing the first weapon on January 11. Officers recovered a photo from Joseph’s phone of him holding the gun, which had been taken that morning.

Phone records showed that following this, Roberts and Joseph were actively searching for buyers whilst simultaneously organising the shipment of the second package.

Roberts made contact with a third man, Caines – from Falcon Lodge Crescent – to bring him in on the conspiracy.

“Communication between the three men was ongoing and the investigation revealed they had travelled together to hide the safe,” the NCA said.

“With Roberts in custody and evidence secured against his co-conspirators, armed officers arrested Caines and Joseph on March 5, 2020.”

The safe was recovered two months later hidden in a bush near Roberts’ home with the firearm still inside. Caines’ DNA was found on the weapon after analysis by NCA forensic scientists.

Caines and Joseph were found guilty of conspiring to acquire and sell prohibited weapons and ammunition as a five week trial at Birmingham Crown Court came to an end today (Nov 5).

Roberts pleaded guilty to the offences at an earlier hearing.

NCA Branch Commander Mick Pope, said: “These men planned to build a business on selling illegal weapons to other criminals. They saw this only as a money-making scheme, paying no consideration to the danger firearms pose to the public.

“Criminals who own firearms – often those linked to the supply of illegal drugs – use them to instil fear, inflict violence and in some cases, to kill.

“The success of this investigation reinforces our commitment to protect the public and tackle this threat.

“We will continue to work with key partners, such as Border Force, to prevent illegal firearms from entering the UK.”

All three men will be sentenced at the same court on a date to be confirmed.

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