Coldstream Guard soldier not guilty in stolen ammunition plot

Kirtland Gill had denied selling ammunition to an undercover police officer and any knowledge of the plot

A soldier responsible for protecting the Queen has been found not guilty of selling stolen ammunition to an undercover police officer.

A jury at Southwark Crown Court cleared Coldstream Guards sergeant major Kirtland Gill, 42, of conspiracy to sell or transfer ammunition.

Mr Gill denied any knowledge of the plot to sell hundreds of bullets for cash.

The soldier was also found not guilty of possessing a prohibited weapon.

Another soldier, Lance Sergeant Rajon Graham, 33, had already pleaded guilty to four counts of selling ammunition between December 2020 and January 2021.

During the three-week-long trial the jury had heard the men had access to the bullets, issued for firing practice.

But the sergeant major said he did not know Graham sold 300 9mm bullets, called "sweets" and wrapped in sandwich bags, for £5,800 in cash to the undercover officer, referred to as "D", who was posing as a criminal.

Mr Gill, a former tutor at the Sandhurst officers' training academy, told the court he was "never involved at all in the sale of ammunition".

Mr Gill was found not guilty after a trial at Southwark Crown Court

The Coldstream Guards, part of the Household Division is responsible for the protection of the Queen and guarding Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle.

Mr Gill, who saw combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, joined the army in 2001 after moving to the UK from Jamaica.

The soldier said his friend Graham, who would visit his family home for barbecues or to play dominoes and help find clients for Gill's business selling car parts, had left the pistol in his shed.

"He's leading a double life," he said of Graham.

"I would even question if he's mentally stable," he told the court.

Rajon Graham told the undercover officer he could provide 9mm ammunition, which he referred to as "sweets"

They also had a professional relationship, with Graham responsible for the ceremonial kit used by the Coldstream Guards, including swords and the regiment's distinctive black bearskin hats, at Wellington Barracks, the court heard.

The sergeant major's commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel David Marsham described him as "firm, fair and professional" and the jury had heard how he "trusted him".

The jury deliberated for seven hours and 17 minutes.

Graham, who did not stand trial, will be sentenced at a later date.