Birmingham physiotherapist jailed for dealing guns
A physiotherapist who supplied guns and ammunition to gangs, including weapons used in three murders, has been jailed.
Mohinder Surdhar, 58, used a legitimate firearms certificate to get weapons which were sold on by co-conspirators for up to £3,000. He previously admitted conspiracy to transfer prohibited weapons and ammunition. At Birmingham Crown Court Surdhar, of Grove Lane, Handsworth, was jailed for 14 years. Judge Richard Bond told Surdhar, who worked with the English karate team and for the NHS, he had breached the trust placed in him as a licensed owner of firearms. Trials of other defendants involved in the conspiracy heard that police across the country started to recover antique handguns and specially made ammunition from crime scenes from 2014. Previous hearings, which led to the conviction of more than a dozen men, including Gloucestershire-based gun dealer Paul Edmunds, were told Surdhar acted as a middleman. During his trial, the court heard Edmunds, 66, of Bristol Road in Hardwick in the county, was arrested at his home in 2015, where he had three armouries and used to make ammunition to fit antique weapons. Police likened Edmunds and Surdhar to the lead characters in the TV series Breaking Bad - as they acted together to supply antique revolvers and custom-made ammunition to criminal gangs. 'Hundreds of guns' Weapons used in 11 non-fatal incidents and 28 other shootings have been linked to Surdhar, police said. Judge Bond added: "It is impossible to say how many weapons you supplied over the years but it would now appear that you supplied hundreds of guns to the gang. "Even to this day, weapons sold by you are still being seized from crime scenes." Related Internet Links HM Courts & Tribunals Service