The South Cambridgeshire head of an organised crime group that sold guns, ammunition and drugs across the UK has been jailed for more than 30 years alongside two of his associates.
Ashley Latimer-Basill, 36, of Brook Road, Thriplow, his brother Michael Latimer, and Robert Kenna had key roles within a criminal network that bought blank firing guns and ammunition which they then converted into live weaponry.
Ashley Latimer Basill, 36, of Brook Road, Thriplow, was jailed for 30 years and six months
They were jailed at Cambridge Crown Court on Friday for a combined 68 years and nine months following an investigation led by the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU).
Specialist detectives launched their probe in November 2023 and found the group used a network of criminal contacts across the country to sell and distribute the guns. Trusted associates were used to store and transport the firearms.
Latimer-Basill, who headed the organised crime group (OCG), was found to have purchased at least 19 firearms for conversion.
Blank ammunition seized from address of Michael Latimer, 39, of Blackthorn Close, St Albans
Documents linked him to two known ‘conversion factories’, while bank records showed he had sent money to Kenna to carry out the work.
He was jailed for 30 years and six months, which is the longest single sentence handed down in an ERSOU investigation.
Michael Latimer, 39, of Blackthorn Close, St Albans, purchased at least 125 blank firearms and bought hundreds of rounds of ammunition.
Michael Latimer, 39, of Blackthorn Close, St Albans, was jailed for 20 years and four months
Phone records proved he regularly liaised with Kenna and also sent him money.
A police raid was carried out at Latimer’s home, during which detectives located 60kg of class A drugs. While arresting Latimer, they found him in possession of blank ammunition.
He was jailed for 20 years and four months.
Robert Kenna, 35, of Burnsfield Street, Chatteris, was jailed fpr 17 years and 11 months
Kenna, 35, used his skills as a metal worker to convert guns and ammunition at his home address in Burnsfield Street, Chatteris.
ERSOU detectives found more than 750 rounds of ammunition hidden in his garden shed and tools for converting blanks into live rounds.
He was sentenced to 17 years and 11 months’ imprisonment.
The trio were also involved in the production of ‘zombie dust’ – a highly dangerous mix of heroin and other substances such as nitazenes, which was sold to other criminal groups across the country.
Packaged drugs found at address of Michael Latimer, 39, of Blackthorn Close, St Albans
Exchanges of messages showed the concoction was mixed at Kenna’s house, with police searches at Michael Latimer’s address uncovering packages of the substance in his garage, packed and ready to be sold to other gangs.
The three men were charged with conspiracy to supply firearms, conspiracy to supply ammunition, and conspiracy to supply class A drugs.
Det Chief Insp 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.
Bullet casings found at the home of Robert Kenna, 35, in Burnsfield Street, Chatteris
“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.”