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A gangland armourer has been jailed after supplying nearly 50 guns to criminals across the UK - including two 16-year-old boys.

Umair Khan, 29, was caged for 22 years after he was finally caught while trying to sell a grenade to an undercover officer.

A court heard how Khan, who sourced his weapons and ammunition on the dark web, also sold almost 50 fully functioning prohibited firearms, including two pistols to teenagers.

He also tried to buy assault rifles but was eventually arrested after a police sting in Birmingham.

(Image: SWNS.com)

(Image: SWNS.com)

Jonathan Cox, prosecuting at Birmingham Crown court said: “Khan was an illegal firearms trade of most significant standing.

“He personally ran an extremely well established commercial enterprise which sold around 50 fully functioning prohibited firearms, in particular pistols and over 1,500 rounds of compatible ammunition.

“He would have been responsible for arming a substantial number of serious criminals in the Birmingham area.”

The court heard how Khan would re-purpose antique weapons and arm them with supposedly obsolete ammunition found on the dark web.

In order to distance himself from what was going on Khan involved others including Nazim Hussain, who provided “safe houses” for the delivery of guns and ammunition - many of which had originally been manufactured for military or police use.

Khan also expanded his business by buying stun guns disguised as torches and knuckle-dusters, while he also enquired about purchasing fully automatic military standard assault rifles.

“It was this expansion that alerted the authorities to his activities,” said Mr Cox.

(Image: SWNS.com)

“He used the dark web, which he must have considered as a safe medium, to attempt to obtain a military grade fragmentation grenade.”

Mr Cox said Khan’s first purchase was made was in May 2014 when he bought a Smith and Wesson .38calibre pistol on line.

He said that he had used bitcoin s to buy the items on the dark web, purchasing £8,500 worth in one year.

By January of this year his activities were being investigated and he was involved in negotiations with someone on the dark web who, unknown to him, was an undercover officer.

He arranged for grenade to be sent to be sent to an address in Smethwick, West Midlands, and a “dummy” package was sent to the property.

(Image: SWNS.com)

Khan was later arrested and when police searched his home they recovered five pistols, various documentation and a cash counting machine.

Khan was jailed for 22 and a half years after he had previously admitted selling prohibited weapons and ammunition, importation of ammunition and attempting to import a grenade.

Hussain, 27, of Bromford Lane, West Bromwich, pleaded guilty to importation of a firearm, selling and transferring ammunition, importing a prohibited weapon and attempting to import a grenade. He was sentenced to nine years.

Passing sentence Judge Peter Carr said Khan had spent over £50,000 in buying guns and that the grenade was addressed to the home of a mother-of-two with the dangers “all too apparent.”

He said: “These activities over prolonged period of time place you in the premier league of weapons suppliers.”