Two brothers have been jailed, and guns and ammunition seized in WMP ongoing work to keep people safe.
Officers raided the home of Azim Hussain (34) and Noweed Hussain (39) in Mansell Road, Small Heath at 2.30 am on 16 July last year.
WMP armed officers searched the house and found two bags in an outbuilding attached to it.
In an Armani pouch, they found a 9mm self-loading handgun, with a bullet loaded into the barrel and another bullet in the magazine.
Next to this pouch was a Nike sports bag containing a shortened shotgun in three parts, an M3 0.45 calibre submachine gun and magazine, and a Webley 0.38 calibre revolver.
Also in the bag was a .45 calibre bullet, a shotgun under-grip, 35 shotgun cartridges, 15 9mm cartridge cases re-fitted with ball bearings, two 9mm cartridges and a .45 calibre cartridge.
At an earlier appearance at Birmingham Crown Court Azim pleaded guilty to six counts of possession of firearms and ammunition. He had told us that he was looking after the guns for someone else who he would not name.
Azim attempted to take all responsibility and said that his brother Noweed was entirely innocent. Thanks to the evidence we presented at court, we proved that was not true.
Officers bodyworn video and expert witnesses showed that while Azim delayed some of WMP officers at the front door, Noweed ran out the back and put the guns and ammunition in the outbuilding.
He pleaded not guilty to possession of the firearms and ammunition, but after a trial at Birmingham Crown Court, a jury unanimously found him guilty.
Detective Constable Darren Wilkie, from the Force Priorities Team in Force CID, was the investigating officer. He said: “You do not need to be a weapons expert to understand the damage a submachine gun – made for killing in World War Two – could do on the busy streets of Birmingham.
“The fact that the handgun was loaded with a real bullet in the barrel shows that they were ready for use, either by Azim and Noweed or other people.
“I believe that our investigation has saved lives.
“We may never know what the brothers were planning but I suspect these were tools to commit serious crime.
“Thanks to the information we received and the action we took, four guns and 56 bullets are now in our secure store ready to be destroyed.”
Yesterday (Thursday 23 June) at Birmingham Crown Court, Azim was jailed for seven years and Noweed was jailed for three years.