The head of an organised crime group (OCG) which sold guns, ammunition and drugs across the UK has today (Friday) been jailed for over 30 years alongside two of his associates.

Ashley Latimer-Basill, his brother Michael Latimer, and Robert Kenna had key roles within a criminal network which bought blank firing guns and ammunition which they then converted into live weaponry.

The trio were jailed for a combined 68 years and nine months as part of an investigation led by the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU).

Specialist detectives launched an investigation in November 2023, finding that the group had used a network of criminal contacts across the UK to sell and distribute the guns, utilising trusted associates to store and transport the firearms.

Latimer-Basill, 36, of Brook Road, Thriplow, headed the OCG and was found to have purchased at least 19 firearms for conversion, with 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.

He was jailed for 30 years and six months; the longest single sentence handed down in an ERSOU investigation.

His brother, Michael Latimer, 39, 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.

During a police raid, detectives located 60kg of class A drugs at Latimer’s home and, while arresting him, found him in possession of blank ammunition.

He was jailed for 20 years and four months.

Robert Kenna, 35, of Burnsfield Street, Chatteris, used his skills as a metal worker to convert guns and ammunition at his home address. ERSOU detectives found more than 750 rounds of ammunition hidden in his garden shed, along with tools for converting blanks into live rounds.

He was sentenced to 17 years and 11 months’ imprisonment.

The trio had also been involved in the production of ‘zombie dust’, a highly dangerous mix of heroin and other substances such as nitazenes, which was being sold to other criminal groups across the country.

Message exchanges showed that the concoction was mixed at Kenna’s house, with police searches at Michael Latimer’s address also finding packages of the substance in his garage, packed and ready to be sold to other gangs.

All three men were charged with conspiracy to supply firearms, conspiracy to supply ammunition, and conspiracy to supply class A drugs. They were sentenced at a Cambridge Crown Court hearing today.

Detective Chief Inspector Steve Dowty from ERSOU’s Regional Organised Crime Unit (ROCU), said: “These men were directly involved in the production of firearms which will no doubt have been used to threaten, seriously injure and potentially kill others. The sentences handed down today reflect the severity of their activity and are testament to the scale of our investigation and the dedication of our detectives.

“The disruption of OCGs across the eastern region is at the core of what our ROCU does, and I am delighted that these individuals will now spend lengthy periods behind bars, where they are prevented from causing further harm to our communities.

“ERSOU is committed in the fight against drugs and guns and, alongside police forces across the region, we will be relentless in our pursuit of those who continue to recklessly and selfishly commit serious and organised crime.”