R -v -KS – Sheffield Crown Court. Operation Treat. Represented SW in a multi hander involving 16 defendants over four separate trials, Conspiracies of an organised crime group involved the sale and transfer of firearms and ammunition. Specifically, the criminal enterprise involved the acquisition of blank firing handguns and blank firing ammunition and the conversion of them into viable firearms and live rounds of ammunition. This was done for the purpose of selling the converted firearms and converted ammunition to the criminal underworld for profit. This criminal enterprise was primarily based in Sheffield and the South Yorkshire area.
The Defendant denied the criminality, did not know of the existence of any of the two conspiracies and did not participate knowingly in any conspiracy. At the end of the Prosecution case, submissions were made by the defence of no case to answer. The case against KS was thrown out and NOT GUILTY VERDICTS entered. The case attracted extensive media coverage.