Four men sentenced to 25 years imprisonment for firearm conspiracy

Four men have started prison sentences totalling 25 years for their part in conspiring to transport a firearm and ammunition into Sheffield.

Razwan Mirza, 30, of Staniforth Road, Darnall, and Mubasher Sarwar, 43, of Lowndes Street, Heaton, Bolton, were both found guilty on Thursday, 7 February 2013, of conspiracy to transfer a firearm and ammunition. Mirza was sentenced to eight years and Sarwar to seven years in prison following a four-week trial at Sheffield Crown Court.

Nadim Bashir Ahmed, 35, of Wigan Road, Bolton, and Faisal Aziz, 23, of Flaxby Road, Darnall, both pleaded guilty to the same charge at the earliest opportunity and were sentenced to five years each at Sheffield Crown Court last week.

On 24 March 2012, intelligence led police to track Faisal Aziz in his green VW Golf from Sheffield to the Bolton home of Nadim Bashir Ahmed. A few minutes after Aziz had left the address, Mubasher Sarwar arrived at Ahmed’s home and was seen to hand over a white bag from the boot of his black Mercedes before leaving the scene.

Faisal Aziz then returned to Ahmed’s house, collected the white bag and drove across the Pennines but was stopped by police on Manchester Road in Crosspool where he was arrested. The bag, which contained a revolver and eight rounds of ammunition, was recovered from the boot of Aziz’s VW Golf.

Police enquiries later revealed that Aziz was acting on the instruction of Razwan Mirza and officers arrested Mirza, Sarwar and Ahmed in June 2012.

Detective Inspector Craig Jackson said: “The sentences reflect the seriousness of the crime. South Yorkshire Police are determined to rid the streets of illegal firearms and pursue those organised criminals involved in this criminality and bring them before the court.”