Iraq war veteran is jailed for 20 years for becoming armourer

Iraq war veteran is jailed for 20 years for becoming underworld armourer who hid ‘bad boy artillery’ of machine gun and pistol for Dubai-based drug lord after struggling to adapt to civilian life

• Ex-Lance Corporal Roy Evans, 34, arrested after guns found in airing cupboard
• The British army veteran saw service in war-torn Basra and Baghdad 
• He was jailed for 20 years after acting as a ‘custodian’ for Dubai-based crimelord
• Bruni Gap 8mm pistol and a Slovakian-made machine gun pistol were seized

A shell-shocked Iraq War veteran has been jailed for 20 years after he became an underworld armourer looking after ‘bad boy artillery’ for a drug gang when he struggled to adapt to civilian life.

Ex-Lance Corporal Roy Evans, 34, was arrested after police seized a Bruni Gap 8mm self-loading pistol and a Slovakian-made machine gun pistol from an airing cupboard he hid at the home he shared with his girlfriend and her four young children.

The British army veteran who saw service in war-torn Basra and Baghdad was involved in an organised crime gang which smuggled £3.4m worth of heroin from Holland into the UK.

Evans, who shares two children with his ex-wife, was also a trusted ‘custodian’ for a Dubai-based crimelord codenamed ‘Surfin’ who used Evans’ knowledge of firearm to look after weapons for him.

One message sent by ‘Surfin’ to Evans about the Skorpion rapid fire machine gun read: ‘I’m gonna get a.f..king thing dropped off you with you yeah. Just lock it off for us fam. Bad boy artillery, bad boy artillery.’

Another said: ‘A machine bro, a Skorpz watch when you see it, an absolute bran spanker see through clips and all that.’

Ex-Lance Corporal Roy Evans (pictured), 34, was arrested after police seized a Bruni Gap 8mm self-loading pistol and a Slovakian-made machine gun pistol from an airing cupboard he hid at the home he shared with his girlfriend and her four children

The British army veteran who saw service in war-torn Basra and Baghdad was involved in an organised crime gang which smuggled £3.4m worth of heroin from Holland into the UK

Evans, from Hazel Grove, Stockport, Greater Manchester, later blamed his behaviour on failing to adapt well to civilian life after being discharged from the army. He said he suffered depression and PTSD.

At Manchester Crown Court he admitted importation of Class A and B drugs and unlawful possession of two firearms and ammunition.

Evans had previously been hailed a hero after serving with the 1st Battalion the Mercian Regiment (Cheshire) serving in Baghdad, Basra and Um Qasar Port.

He also served in Afghanistan and Northern Ireland and spent a total of 13 years in the armed forces before leaving to start work in the construction industry. According to Companies House he also became director of a handyman business known as ‘Hire a Heroe (correct) Ltd.’

Police began investigating Evans in June 2020 after police raided a house in Stockport where he had been staying with Nicola Edge and four children aged between four and 15.

Drugs seized during the investigation. At Manchester Crown Court he admitted importation of Class A and B drugs and unlawful possession of two firearms and ammunition

According to Companies House Evans (left) became director of a handyman business known as ‘Hire a Heroe (correct) Ltd’. Pictured with his accomplice David Astley

An accomplice arrested at the scene had his phone examined and Evans (left), was found to have called the device multiple times in the run up to the delivery. Right, Astley

Detectives later quizzed Evans in hospital where he had been admitted for an undisclosed illness but he subsequently gave a statement saying: ‘I deny the firearms are anything to do with me’

One PC found a Berghaus rucksack on top of a cistern tank in the airing cupboard and discovered several wrapped plastic bags containing the guns wrapped in yellow dusters plus a loaded magazine containing five 9mm bullets. Three other 9mm bullets were found in a sock.

Jonathan Dickson prosecuting said: ‘The defendant was a trusted custodian or armourer for a member of an organised crime group. There was no evidence of any intended use of the weapons but the defendant’s background in firearms in the Army and his lack of hesitation to take possession of a machine gun only point to use in connection with crime.

‘A loaded firearm was placed in insecure housing available to young inquisitive members of the Edge family. The airing cupboard was open to any member of the family unit.’

Detectives later quizzed Evans in hospital where he had been admitted for an undisclosed illness but he subsequently gave a statement saying: ‘I deny the firearms are anything to do with me. 

‘I knew nothing about them. I work in construction but prior to this I have been a soldier in the British army for 13 years and I suffer with PTSD.’

The court heard officers also found 178 incriminating voice recordings left between Evans and an Asian man called ‘Suf’ believed to be Sufryn Butt a mob boss based in Dubai

Evans had previously been convicted of battery in 2019 and cautioned for assault in 2014

Evans had previously been hailed a hero after serving with the 1st Battalion the Mercian Regiment (Cheshire) serving in Baghdad, Basra and Um Qasar Port

Police later connected Evans to the seizure of 50 blocks of heroin weighing 25kg, seven blocks of cocaine weighing 7kg and a block of cannabis weighing 95g during a raid at an industrial unit in Salford.

An accomplice arrested at the scene had his phone examined and Evans, was found to have called the device multiple times in the run up to the delivery. 

The court heard officers also found 178 incriminating voice recordings left between Evans and an Asian man called ‘Suf’ believed to be Sufryn Butt a mob boss based in Dubai.

Evans had previously been convicted of battery in 2019 and cautioned for assault in 2014.

His lawyer Gemma Maxwell said in mitigation: ‘The defendant did not have any influence on those above him in the chain, it was naivety on his behalf. He had very little awareness of the scale of the operation and there is no evidence he would benefit financially from his involvement.

‘He performed a limited function under direction and he believed the guns would not be discovered by the occupants of the house.’

Police later connected Evans to the seizure of 50 blocks of heroin weighing 25kg, seven blocks of cocaine weighing 7kg and a block of cannabis weighing 95g during a raid at an industrial unit in Salford

His lawyer Gemma Maxwell said in mitigation: ‘The defendant did not have any influence on those above him in the chain, it was naivety on his behalf’

She added: ‘He was and has been a family man. He is married and had children while he served in the forces in Afghanistan. He had a caring responsibility for his children but separated from his wife in 2017.

‘It is clear from the psychological report, he did not adapt well to civilian life after coming back from the army. He has depression and PTSD – both of which had some part to play in the choices he made. He was a result of his mental health particularly susceptible to someone like Mr Butt.’

But sentencing Evans, Judge Timothy Smith told him: ‘Those who deal in drugs expect to make money from the weak and most vulnerable in society.

‘It brings about misery and despair, and very often death to those who use and become addicted to drugs and spawns an ever-increasing cycle of crime. 

‘Those who are involved, do so knowing full well they play a real part in the dark and wicked trade.

‘Guns are used to terrorise and intimidate, and that’s why criminals want them and to use them. They are used with lethal force by rival gangs who like to enforce their own territory, usually driven by the drug dealing trade.

‘The gravity of gun crime cannot be condemned. Many weapons are available always with devastating effects.’

After the case Det Insp Rebecca McGuigan, from Greater Manchester Police said: ‘We have successfully disrupted the distribution of drugs which could have destroyed relationships and wrecked the lives of not only drug users, but those engaged in the illicit supply chains.

‘Furthermore two viable firearms and ammunition have been removed from the streets, and the hands of criminals. I hope this sentence makes it absolutely clear that criminals can’t act like this, and expect to get away with it. I urge anyone considering partaking in this criminality to seriously think about the consequences of doing so, because we will find you, and hold you accountable.’

David Astley, 35, of, Ashton-under-Lyne, was jailed for eight years for his part in the drugs racket.

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