Gary Hyde was today sentenced at Southwark Crown Court to seven years' imprisonment for an illegal shipment of 80,000 weapons and 32 million rounds of ammunition from China to Nigeria and for laundering the proceeds of this supply.
Elspeth Pringle, an arms brokering lawyer for the Crown Prosecution Service, said:
“It did not matter that Hyde’s shipments did not leave the UK. Hyde was a British national and was subject to British laws which control the transfer of arms and military goods from one third country to another. He had been an arms dealer for a considerable number of years and knew his activities would be subject to UK controls.
“This isn’t just about paperwork; arms controls exist for a reason and people who seek to avoid them in order to make money out of other people’s misery will be stopped.
“This is one of the largest cases I have ever come across in terms of the quantity of the arms involved and it should serve as a warning to the industry. Those who fail to comply with the licensing authorities are liable to prosecution.”
Background
Hyde was convicted of two counts of being knowingly concerned in the movement of controlled goods, contrary to Article 9(2) of The Trade in Goods (Control) Order 2003.
He was also convicted of one count concealing monies, contrary to section 327 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
