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17/04/2012
Man Jailed For Smuggling Stun Guns
A man from Hampshire who attempted to smuggle 8 stun guns into the UK through Heathrow airport has been jailed for 20 months.
Iain Charles Pitt, 43, of Freshwood Drive in Yateley, was stopped by border force officers as he passed through the customs channel at Heathrow terminal 3, after arriving on a flight from Bangkok on 10 January 2012.
Officers searched his baggage and found 8 stun guns disguised as mobile phones.
In interviews he claimed he had bought the devices for £8 each in Thailand and intended to sell them for around £50 each when he returned to Britain.
Pitt was arrested and later charged with possessing an offensive weapon. He pleaded guilty, and on Thursday 12 April a judge at Isleworth crown court in West London sent him to prison for 20 months.
The stun guns will be destroyed.
Paul Bolton of border force said: "These items were undoubtedly incredibly dangerous, and the fact they were disguised as seemingly harmless mobile phones makes this even worse.
"Border Force officers work around the clock at ports and airports to keep these kinds of weapons, and other illegal items likes drugs, counterfeit goods and firearms, out of the UK."
(GK)
Iain Charles Pitt, 43, of Freshwood Drive in Yateley, was stopped by border force officers as he passed through the customs channel at Heathrow terminal 3, after arriving on a flight from Bangkok on 10 January 2012.
Officers searched his baggage and found 8 stun guns disguised as mobile phones.
In interviews he claimed he had bought the devices for £8 each in Thailand and intended to sell them for around £50 each when he returned to Britain.
Pitt was arrested and later charged with possessing an offensive weapon. He pleaded guilty, and on Thursday 12 April a judge at Isleworth crown court in West London sent him to prison for 20 months.
The stun guns will be destroyed.
Paul Bolton of border force said: "These items were undoubtedly incredibly dangerous, and the fact they were disguised as seemingly harmless mobile phones makes this even worse.
"Border Force officers work around the clock at ports and airports to keep these kinds of weapons, and other illegal items likes drugs, counterfeit goods and firearms, out of the UK."
(GK)
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