Dark web gun buyer sentenced to six years

18 Jan 2016 01:51 PM

A man who tried to buy live weapons and ammunition via the dark web has been sentenced to six years after pleading guilty at Birmingham Crown Court to importing and possessing firearms.

Montgomery Richard Kyle Byrne (31) from Bury was arrested at the M6 Stafford Services by officers from the National Crime Agency’s Armed Operations Unit in August 2015.

At the time of his arrest, Byrne was attempting to hand over  £1,300 for a live fire Glock 9mm self loading pistol and 300 rounds of ammunition bought from a site on the dark web. He had tried to buy an AK47 assault rifle from the same website.

Officers searched his home and found a Smitt Ruben sniper/hunting rifle, a sawn off shotgun, a revolver and over 200 rounds of ammunition, cartridges and bullets.

They also found an ammunition press, firearms powder, bullet heads and percussion caps, all components for producing ammunition that could be discharged by the various weapons.

He has been sentenced recently after pleading guilty to nine firearms offences including possessing a bolt action rifle and a quantity of cartridges with bullets designed to explode on or immediately before contact.

Brent Lyon from the NCA’s Armed Operations Unit said:

“Byrne does not have any identifiable links to  organised crime or terrorism but the weapons he was attempting to buy and the ones he already possessed could have caused significant harm.

“If you buy guns on the dark web you leave a digital footprint - and the NCA will do everything it can to identify you and hold you to account”.