British Soldiers stole explosives for criminal gangs

[TonyGosling]

More worrying is the crooked soldiers they didn't catch yet - "It's unlikely that the 9mm ammunition came from 5 Scots - they must have come from wider criminal elements in the Army.'"

Three soldiers jailed for 28 years over plot to sell Army explosives to criminal gangs
By Rebecca Camber
Last updated at 7:26 PM on 27th October 2008

A top judge called on the British Army to launch an urgent inquiry after three soldiers were jailed for a plot to sell explosives to criminal gangs. Mr Justice Akenhead said the soldiers had 'dishonoured and betrayed' their country after stealing a massive cache of weapons including plastic explosives and grenades to sell to druglords. Colour Sergeant Garry Graham, 37, Lance Corporal Martyn Fitzsimmons, 28, and Sergeant Kieran Campbell, 27 were jailed at Maidstone Crown Court on Monday for a total of 28 years after taking huge quantities of explosives from a British Army barracks in Canterbury, Kent.


Martyn Fitzsimmons, Kieran Campbell and Garry Graham were jailed for their part in a plot to sell army explosives to criminals

The judge called for an urgent investigation into how the soldiers were able to stockpile detonators, flares, smoke grenades, and munitions which they planned to transport to some of Glasgow's notorious criminals without being detected by Army superiors. He said: 'The Army needs to urgently conduct an inquiry into how this happened. 'These three serving soldiers have dishonoured their battalion, their regiment and their country and betrayed the trust that people placed in them.' Following a three week trial, Grahams and Fitzsimmons were convicted of conspiring to possess explosives and conspiracy to dishonestly undertake or assist in the retention, removal, disposal or realisation of stolen goods. Sentencing each to 12 years in prison, Mr Justice Akenhead told them: 'You must have known or been aware that these would be sold to criminal gangs in Glasgow and would have been used for criminal purposes and that these weapons could have fallen into the hands of groups committed to harming people in this country. 'These offences are extremely serious and among the most serious serving soldiers can commit. 'Fundamentally they stem from dishonesty and the motive was money - it was a very dangerous dishonesty. 'There can be no doubt that this conspiracy went wider than the four men in court - it's unlikely that the 9mm ammunition came from 5 Scots - they must have come from wider criminal elements in the Army.'


The three soldiers took huge quantities of explosives from a British Army barracks in Canterbury including plastic explosives similar to these (file picture)

Campbell, 27, was also jailed for four years after pleading guilty in June. All three soldiers from Glasgow had been serving members of the 5th Battalion the Royal Regiment of Scotland stationed at Howe Barracks in Canterbury, Kent. A fourth man, Andrew Quinn, 26, a former soldier with the regiment is due to be sentenced later this week. Police stumbled upon the plot when they carried out a drugs bust at Quinn's home in Glasgow. They found a suitcase stuffed with Army ammunition, pyrotechnics, shotgun cartridges, smoke grenades and parachute flares as well as heroin and drug paraphernalia. Some of the explosives had their British Army identification numbers scratched out, but detectives were able to link them to the Kent barracks where Quinn was known to still have links, even though he had previously been kicked out of the Army for failing a drugs test. On February 15 this year police raided the Army base to find the soldiers had hidden a massive cache of arms - including seven sticks of plastic explosives, 60 firing wires and 96 detonators which were found in the locker of Colour Sergeant Graham. A detailed search of the platoon storeroom also revealed a green zip-up bag storing five smoke grenades and blank ammunition, plus further detonators and fuses in a metal container. The court heard that all three had distinguished service records including stints in Iraq, Bosnia and Northern Ireland with Fitzsimmons serving in covert operations alongside the SAS in 2005. Mr Justice Akenhead said: 'It causes me great distress to have to sentence soldiers who have served their country. 'But you were involved in two substantial consignments of explosives which you did for money and for which there is no excuse.'