WIREDGOV

A British man who travelled to Belgium to purchase a haul of illegal weapons has been jailed, along with five members of a firearms trafficking group, for a total of 16 and a half years following a joint investigation by the National Crime Agency and the Belgian Federal Police (BFP).

The group were jailed in October, however details can only be released now following the conclusion of a linked investigation by the BFP.

In 2017, investigators from the NCA’s Armed Operations Unit identified that 33-year-old British national, Patrick Riley, was planning to travel to Belgium to purchase a haul of illegal weapons.

After sharing this information with the BFP, Riley was placed under surveillance when he arrived in Belgium in July the same year. He was arrested along with four Belgian nationals following the handover of weapons and ammunition.

Officers searching Riley’s van found ten self-loading pistols, two revolvers, silencers and varied calibre ammunition hidden in false wall panels.

Following the meet, Belgian investigators tracked down a fifth member of the network, Lucas De Vos, 69, who had multiple previous convictions for firearms offences. 

De Vos was identified as the armourer who completed the illegal conversion process and the manufacturer of the silencers purchased by Riley.

In December 2017, NCA firearms officers and forensic experts accompanied the BFP in searching five addresses linked to De Vos. Numerous weapons, over 200 rounds of ammunition and an array of tools and components required to manufacture and convert lethal weapons were seized.

On 23 October 2018 in Belgium, Riley and De Vos were convicted of firearms offences and each sentenced to four years in prison.

The four men that facilitated the handover, Paul Wouters, 57, Sammy Van De Reydt, 41, Tom Van De Reydt 49 and Klaas Maerten 50, were jailed for three years and four months, two years and six months, one year and eight months and ten months respectively.

During the investigation, over £350, 000 in sterling and over €5 million euros were seized in cash and bank funds.

Jo Campbell-Waggott from the NCA’s Armed Operations Unit said: “Tackling the importation of illegal weapons from Europe into the UK is a priority for the NCA.

We know that firearms are strongly linked to drug supply, with criminal gangs using them to enforce control and ultimately fuel serious violence. 

“Riley was intending to supply twelve of these lethal weapons to organised criminals here in the UK.

“Through sharing intelligence and working with our Belgian counterparts, we have managed to not only disrupt a single consignment of weapons destined for the UK, but dismantle an entire weapon production and importation network."