A father-of-nine known as ‘Mad Dog’ splashed his ill-gotten gains on luxury cars and expensive holidays before his lethal business came crashing down and put him behind bars.
Carlington Grant, 41, and partner Khiana Lewis, 34, flaunted their wealth by posing for pictures on lavish trips abroad – including Jamaica – and in front of fancy cars.
But their deadly trade converting blank-firing pistols into lethal weapons, which earned them about £150,000, was soon exposed by police and came back to bite them, reports Birmingham Mail .
Grant was the head of a firearms supply network which saw harmless handguns brought into the UK from France before being transformed into working guns. The weapons were shipped and picked up in Cornwall.
This week, Grant, from Wolverhampton, was jailed for 26 years. While Lewis, from Brierley Hill in the West Midlands, was sentenced to 17 years.
Police say the crooked Black Country couple paid for their lavish lifestyle, including trips to Jamaica, from their gun dealing.
At Birmingham Crown Court on Wednesday, the pair and a third defendant were sentenced after being convicted of conspiring to sell prohibited weapons and ammunition following a three-week trial.
The gang’s middleman, Jermaine Dornan, 30, of Bilson, received a nine-year jail term. He was also sentenced for dealing in cannabis.
The group’s activities came to light in August 2016 when two of the converted guns were recovered during a covert operation by West Midlands Police.
The guns were in a shoe box and were handed over in a supermarket car park.
All of the men involved in this transfer were caught on police surveillance and jailed for a total of 45 years.