important A weapons dealer has been jailed for five years

[LarryH57]

I'm sure many of you will have seen this in the press and may even know the man. Certainly he was wrong to own fire arms that are illegal and he does our hobby no end of harm - but when you read the following press report there must be a few of us who are thinking 'there but for the grace of god go I' when looking at the collections we have in our loft. Imagine all the innocent bits of kit and those manuals in your loft being listed in the paper. How menacing it could all sound to joe public with headlines like 'He owned a WW1 bayonet 12 inches long' or 'The manual of infantry tactics he had could have been used by terrorists' or he owned a Vickers, a Bren and a Lewis all of which could be re-activated' (with 'could be' emphasised). The list is endless. As they say in the media 'don't let the truth get in the way of a good story. So when you read the following press report only the items mentioned in the first two lines are illegal - all the other kit he owned was used to make him sound much worse. And god forbid that any of you have any techical know-how even if you never ever intend to use it; your nicked.

 

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A weapons dealer has been jailed for five years for illegally storing a Soviet anti-tank missile launcher, pistols and a shotgun at his home.

 

David Sampson, 42, sold deactivated guns and grenades on internet site eBay under the name ‘millsbomber’.

 

When police raided his home in Sittingbourne after a tip-off they discovered a £200,000 arsenal of weapons.

 

Officers were shocked to find a Soviet AT3 anti-tank “Sagger” rocket launcher – the lethal weapon being used by insurgents against British forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

 

They also seized a 9mm German Luger self-loading pistol dating from the First World War, an antique Belgian single-shot pistol and a double-barrelled 16-bore shotgun - which he did not have permission to own.

 

Most of Sampson's huge hoard was legally held, including 750 hand grenades and an SAS-silencer pistol, because they had been deactivated and no longer posed a threat to human life.

 

But Maidstone Crown Court was told during his sentencing on Monday that Sampson had the technical know-how to "reactivate" out-of-use weapons.

 

During the raid in October 2006, police found the Luger pistol concealed behind a kitchen cabinet and the Belgian gun hidden in the garage.

 

Paul Sims, defending, had told the court during Sampson's five-day trial earlier this year how his client was a reputable dealer who obtained the missile launcher from a Dutch man to give to the Army's Defence Ordinanace Disposal School (DEODS) for training.

 

But his "customer" refused to give evidence on Sampson's behalf and his claims could not be supported.

 

Sampson told the court the Luger was an heirloom that had belonged to his great-grandfather, who fought in the Great War.

 

He insisted he would donate the piece to the West Kent Regimental Museum, but never did. He also claimed to have got the Belgian handgun from a friend who found it during a clear-out.

 

The court was told that Sampson had arranged to buy the Sagger from an arms dealer he met at a Kent military show two years ago.

 

Judge Charles MacDonald told Sampson: "These were slightly unusual prohibited weapons found in circumstances that were not explained and you should have known better.

 

"The defendant has shown no remorse and has appeared arrogant throughout his trial.”

 

Sampson was convicted of four gun-related charges - two of possessing a prohibited firearm, possessing a shotgun without a certificate and possessing a shotgun - all contrary to the Firearms Act 1968.

 

Three of these charges carry a minimum sentence of five years. He was given 18 months for the shotgun offence and ordered to serve three counts of five years concurrently.

 

Sampson showed no emotion as he was handed the sentence.

Edited November 5, 2008 by LarryH57

[Chappers]

This is the thing that got me

But Maidstone Crown Court was told during his sentencing on Monday that Sampson had the technical know-how to "reactivate" out-of-use weapons.

 

Does this mean every engineer in the country is in trouble because of there knowledge.!!!!!

[REME 245]

At the end of the day he had live firearms without the appropriate Licence.

 

There are manadatory jail sentences for such offences so if you are silly enough have illegal weapons in your possession expect to go to jail. All of these weapons could have been deactivated if he wished.

 

Even Regimental museums now have to have all their exhibits deactivated.

[ArtistsRifles]

This is the thing that got me

 

Does this mean every engineer in the country is in trouble because of there knowledge.!!!!!

 

Technically then anyone who's ever done any DIY is in the same state - if you can use a drill and a file you have the basic "technical know-how to "reactivate" out-of-use weapons"!!

 

All you are lacking is the thousand of pounds worth of machine tools. I note this was NOT referred to in the press report.

 

I often think it would have been more beneficial to the country for the Gov't to have gone after the crooks and terrorists who would want to use weapons rather than hammering collectors and museums they way they did - but then I suppose the bad guy rights would have been infringed :argh: :argh: :argh:

[Tony B]

I'm sfraid its a case of the Law is the Law. If we don't like it we can work democratically to change it but while it is the law, firearm holders or dealers are trusted by society, breack that trust and you deserve to pay for it. Unfortunatley it does make us an easy target, because we comply, but the prinipal has to be upheld.

[Snapper]

Keep in mind that the media - especially specific tabloids are obsessed with the idea that all deacts can be reactivated as much as they are with the lethal dangers of airsoft replicas. The war on all this is long lost and consigned to the vault of If Only. This bloke, wittingly or otherwise, fuels the persuasive and popular (if totally innacurate) argument of the Daily Bile and The Sun. Beware.

[Tony B]

So gents! Why does it needthe inside leg measurment of the purchaser to buy a pice of gun shaped wood that 1) Cannot 2)Never could 3) Never will , be able to fire anything, escept prerhaps as kindiling, but not a De-Ac? Anyone who can give a lucid sensible answer should apply to the UN as Cheif negotiator, or will be able to sell Catweazle a gas conversion for his boat engine.

[Snapper]

You need to be a panellist on QI

[Tony B]

Or a double helping of those strange mushrooms growing outside the club house. Bearing in mind the law was chaged a few years back to allow the little ***** to buy BB guns that discharged more than one pellet at a single pull of the trigger. Strangly enough a Vet friend of mine has a blow gun to anithatise animals, that is class five!

[Snapper]

I use Guinness for my anaesthetic.

 

Good points. I did forget about the mushroom patch in the shade of the gum trees. Not the place to leave the MUTT. I think I had some of the mushrooms yesterday...it explains a lot.

 

M