Men who sold 'terrifying' military-grade guns jailed

Robert Brazendale and gangland boss Philip Waugh pleaded guilty to the offences in April

Two men who imported and sold "an array of terrifying" military-grade weapons that were used in shootings in Liverpool and elsewhere across the UK have been jailed.

Philip Waugh and Robert Brazendale, both from Warrington, had previously pleaded guilty to firearms offences, and had also admitted conspiring to inflict grievous bodily harm by trying to get another man to throw acid in the face of a rival.

Both men appeared at Liverpool Crown Court earlier for the sentencing by Judge Andrew Menary KC.

Waugh was jailed for 26 years and eight months, and his right-hand man Brazendale, who was already serving a 10-year term for firearms offences in 2022, was sentenced to 11 years and four months.

Waugh, 39, was arrested in Spain last September following a four-year investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA) into the sale of weapons on the encrypted communications platform EncroChat.

The NCA found the pair traded under anonymous handles between the end of March and June 2020.

Waugh would smuggle the weapons into the country and then his accomplice Brazendale, of Selworthy Drive in Warrington, would sell them on to various criminal gangs.

The police intercepted messages sent by criminals after they received the firearms.

"Mate I just got a sick bit of steel", one read.

"I got us a sick spray today", said another.

"Mate next level something out of a film."

The NCA uncovered the selling of weapons on the encrypted platform EncroChat

Waugh sent round a list of military-grade weapons to UK crime groups, including AK47 rifles, a Skorpion machine gun and an Uzi machine gun.

He advertised AK47s on sale for £10,000 each and the Uzi for £9,000.

When the pair pleaded guilty in April this year, Ben Rutter of the NCA said Waugh "supplied an array of terrifying automatic and semi-automatic weaponry to offenders who were planning horrific crimes".

"He didn't care at all about who might be killed in the process, he only cared about the money," Mr Rutter added.

"Waugh and Brazendale led a sophisticated criminal enterprise, conspiring to import military-grade weapons from Europe into the UK," said Adam Clarke of the Crown Prosecution Service.

"These weapons were later used in multiple shootings through the UK, showing that these criminals had a total disregard for the harm they inflicted on our communities."

Judge Andrew Menary KC, the Honorary Recorder of Liverpool, said: "The trafficking of firearms poses the gravest risk to public safety.

"It must be highlighted that gun crime remains a grave and troubling issue.

He said: "Sadly Liverpool's violent crime rate continues to exceed the national average.

"Gun crime instils fear, destabilises communities and causes tragic loss of life."

Both men did not react when they were sentenced.