"Gun factory" man found guilty

5:33pm Wednesday 27th August 2008

A FORMER High Wycombe man has been found guilty of turning replica guns into live weapons in a "firearms conversion factory."

Grant Wilkinson, 33, was today found guilty of all nine conspiracy and gun possession charges he faced during his trial.

His co-defendant, Gary Lewis, 38, of Blind Lane, Bourne End, was cleared of the same charges and walked free from court, after weeping uncontrollably in the dock as the verdicts were read out.

The jury at Reading Crown Court heard that Wilkinson, 33, bought the 90 replica sub-machine guns from Sabre Defence Industries by claiming he needed them as props on a James Bond film.

However, the company's director, Guy Savage, became suspicious of the defendant, who posed using the name of Gary Wilson.

Wilkinson, now of no fixed abode, handed over £55,201 pounds in cash for the 90 replicas, together with 90 magazines.

Mr Savage, who took a picture of "Mr Wilson" on his mobile phone because he was suspicious of him, later identified Wilkinson as the person he had done business with.

The illicit gun factory was housed in a shed in Basingstoke Road, Three Mile Cross. Police raided the site in July last year, where detectives discovered three Mac-10 machine guns in various stages of conversion, partially-adapted handguns and 2,700 discharged cartridges in a testing range.

Eight barrels containing eight machine guns and ammunition were later found in a field in Juniper Lane, Wooburn Green, half a mile from Wilkinson's parent's home.

Detective Chief Superintendent George Turner, head of Thames Valley Police CID, who led the investigation, said that the intention of the defendants was to endanger lives. He said: "Gun factories themselves are very rare and there have only been a relatively small number in recent years.

"They were weapons produced solely for killing and in our view, the only possible consequence of their actions was the endangering of human life."

Forensic experts spent a total of four years in man hours on the case attempting to link the factory to various shootings.

Of the 90 sub-machine guns bought by the defendant, 41 have been recovered and at least 38 were still in circulation, the jury was told.

After his arrest in December 2007, Wilkinson said he was too scared to speak about the enterprise as his boss, Kevin Donoghue, had been murdered.

But he led detectives to the barrels in Juniper Lane. He claimed he had a hunch about the location after overhearing a telephone conversation involving a violent gangster referred to as "R."

He also said that "R" had threatened the lives of Wilkinson and his family if he were to go to police.

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