Herts man jailed for role in distributing firearms and 'dangerous' drugs to gangs across the UK

They were part of a gang that was repurposing guns and sending them to other criminals across the UK.

Today (17 January), it was announced that the longest sentence had been delivered to the organised crime group’s (OCG) leader who is due to spend 30 years behind bars.

Ashley Latimer-Basill, his brother Michael Latimer, and Robert Kenna, were all identified by the police as having key roles in a gang that sold guns, ammunition and drugs throughout the country.

Their OCG bought blank firing guns and ammunition which they then converted into live weaponry, the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU) discovered.

In total, the three arms dealers were sentenced to a combined 68 years and nine months in jail.

ERSOU has revealed that specialist detectives first started investigating the OCG in November 2023, finding that the group had used a network of criminal contacts across the UK to sell and distribute the guns, utilising trusted associates to store and transport the firearms.

Latimer-Basill, 36, of Brook Road, Thriplow, was identified as the leader and detectives discovered that he bought at least 19 firearms for conversion, with documents linking him to two known ‘conversion factories’ and bank records showing he had sent money to accomplice Robert Kenna to carry out the work.

His 30 years and six months sentence is the longest term a judge has delivered in an ERSOU investigation.

His brother, Michael Latimer, 39, of Blackthorn Close, St Albans, purchased at least 125 blank firearms and bought hundreds of rounds of ammunition. Phone records showed he regularly liaised with Kenna and had also sent him money.

During a police raid, detectives located 60kg of class A drugs at Latimer’s home and, while arresting him, found him in possession of blank ammunition. He was jailed for 20 years and four months.

Robert Kenna, 35, of Burnsfield Street, Chatteris, used his skills as a metal worker to convert guns and ammunition at his home address. ERSOU detectives found more than 750 rounds of ammunition hidden in his garden shed, along with tools for converting blanks into live rounds. He was sentenced to 17 years and 11 months’ imprisonment.

The trio had also been involved in the production of ‘zombie dust’, which the police described as a highly dangerous mix of heroin and other substances such as nitazenes, it sold to other criminal groups across the country, ERSOU revealed.

Messages obtained by the police show the concoction was mixed at Kenna’s house, with police searches at Michael Latimer’s address also finding packages of the substance in his garage, packed and ready to be sold to other gangs.

All three men were charged with conspiracy to supply firearms, conspiracy to supply ammunition, and conspiracy to supply class A drugs. They were sentenced at a Cambridge Crown Court hearing today.

Detective Chief Inspector Steve Dowty from ERSOU’s Regional Organised Crime Unit (ROCU), said: “These men were directly involved in the production of firearms which will no doubt have been used to threaten, seriously injure and potentially kill others. The sentences handed down today reflect the severity of their activity and are testament to the scale of our investigation and the dedication of our detectives.

“The disruption of OCGs across the eastern region is at the core of what our ROCU does, and I am delighted that these individuals will now spend lengthy periods behind bars, where they are prevented from causing further harm to our communities.

“ERSOU is committed in the fight against drugs and guns and, alongside police forces across the region, we will be relentless in our pursuit of those who continue to recklessly and selfishly commit serious and organised crime.”

Five men from Hertfordshire are due to be charged in connection with the UK-wide operation, ERSOU also confirmed.