Latest member of Hertfordshire guns and drugs gang convicted

Following an operation led by the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU), three men from Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire are facing significant spells behind bars for their roles in a complex network converting and selling blank firing guns and ammunition.

Ashley Latimer-Basill, 36, of Thriplow, was the head of the gang and was found to have purchased at least 19 firearms for conversion.

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.

Latimer-Basill pleaded guilty ahead of trial.

His brother, Michael Latimer, 38, 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, and 60kg of class A drugs were found at his home address.

He was arrested in possession of blank ammunition and, after pleading not guilty, was convicted following trial.

Kenna, 34, of Burnsfield Street, Chatteris, used his skills as a metal worker to convert guns and ammunition as his home address.

Detectives found more than 750 rounds of ammunition hidden in his garden shed, along with tools for converting the blanks into live rounds. He pleaded guilty on the second day of his trial.

The group were also involved in the production of 'zombie dust', a highly dangerous mix of heroin and other substances, including nitazenes.

The drugs, which were mixed at Kenna’s house, were set to be sold to other UK gangs, with police searches at Michael Latimer’s address locating packages of the substance.

All three were charged with conspiracy to supply firearms, conspiracy to supply ammunition, and conspiracy to supply class A drugs. They are due to be sentenced in January 2025.

The group were also involved in the production of 'zombie dust'. (Image: Eastern Region Special Operations Unit)

Men from Stevenage, Hitchin and Letchworth set to be sentenced

Five other members of an organised crime gang closely linked to the group previously admitted charges of conspiracy to supply firearms.

They are due to be sentenced at a Cambridge Crown Court hearing on Friday, December 13.

Andre Parris, 28, of Bedford Road, Hitchin was a leading member of the gang, orchestrating the transportation and delivery of the firearms across the country.

He was arrested at Heathrow Airport as he attempted to leave the UK on a flight to Barbados the day after other gang members had been arrested.

Ricky Turner, 28, of Ascot Crescent, Stevenage, was also a prominent member of the gang who stored the guns.

A police warrant at his home led to the seizure of 34 viable firearms and 340 rounds of ammunition.

Andrew Wilson, 53, of Kimberley, Letchworth, was a trusted courier and was arrested while driving, with officers finding a firearm and seven rounds of ammunition in his car.

Paul Aldridge, 48, of Wansbeck Close, Stevenage, and Niall Curley, 42, of Ripon Road, Stevenage, were also important couriers, tasked by Parris to transport the firearms.

"Very dangerous individuals"

Superintendent Steve Dowty, from ERSOU’s Regional Organised Crime Unit, said: "This has been a complex investigation targeting some very dangerous individuals who have been seeking to profit from the development and conversion of firearms.

"It was vitally important that we targeted the key members of this gang to dismantle their network entirely.

"I’ve no doubt that the removal of these guns from criminal hands will have saved lives.

"In addition to the firearms that were being converted, the group were also cutting class A drugs with some incredibly dangerous substances which would likely have been incredibly harmful to anyone taking them.

"They clearly had no concern of the repercussions of their activity, and it’s positive that their criminal network has been taken down."