Adrian Gonzalez, the gangster in charge of the stash house, has been jailed for 25 years
A crime gang responsible for the biggest gun running plot ever countered by UK law enforcement operated its main stash house from a plush Ancoats residential development. A property in the Cotton Field Wharf plot at Ancoats Marina was rented out to store guns, ammunition, drugs and ‘vast’ amounts of cash.
“This trade in guns and ammunition, Mr Gonzalez, was described by an expert in this field as being amongst the very highest level of criminal firearm trafficking ever encountered by law enforcement in the United Kingdom,” Judge John Potter told Gonzalez, who he labelled a ‘determined’ and ‘professional criminal’.
“The evidence in this case is consistent with the intended use of these firearms in the furtherance of violent criminal disputes,” prosecutor Neil Fryman said. The gang acquired a number of Grand Power pistols for £147,000 then sold most of them on, the court heard. Gonzalez was also responsible for brokering drug and gun deals with other criminals, and acting as a courier. Prosecutors said the EncroChat messages revealed Gonzalez owned a Skorpion himself, which has never been recovered.
Ancoats Manchester City Centre Alderley Edge Tameside Stockport
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