Triplets jailed for firearm offences
Trio tried to use their identical DNA and looks to throw police off scent
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Three identical triplets have been jailed after being found guilty of supplying an “extremely dangerous criminal” with an Uzi sub-machine gun and a loaded pistol.
Police carried out extensive investigation to find out which one of Reiss, Ralston or Ricky Gabriel dealt the weapons after finding DNA on one.
But mobile phone and surveillance evidence revealed it was actually all three of the brothers.
The 28-year-olds, from Edmonton, London, were found guilty of conspiracy to possess firearms and ammunition with intent to endanger life after a trial in July.
Ricky and Ralston, who were both semi-professional footballers, were each jailed for 14 years at Blackfriars Crown Court on Friday.
Reiss was sentenced to 18 years after also pleading guilty to possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life and two counts of possession of Class A drugs with intent to supply.
All three smirked as they were sentenced and grinned at onlooking friends and family as they were taken down to the cells.
Sentencing, Judge John Hillen told them: “All three of you were involved in an agreement to source and deliver then weapons to an extremely dangerous criminal, Aron Thomas, for his use.
“Each one of you was involved in the transaction to supply Aron Thomas with weapons and ammunition.
“One or more of you clearly had access to organised criminals or organised groups of criminals capable of obtaining firearms and ammunition for onward transfer.”
Events unfolded after armed police found the Uzi – complete with silencer and ammunition – and a loaded pistol on courier Hamza Ahmed after stopping a taxi in Tottenham on 10 April 2017.
Kerry Broome, prosecuting, said: “An Uzi sub-machine gun is clearly an extraordinarily serious firearm. It is not capable of any lawful use. It has the capability to cause maximum indiscriminate harm.
“The pistol was loaded. They were both ready for immediate use.
“The weapons were not used, but the reason for that was because the police managed to stop the onward transfer.”
The firearms were meant for Aron Thomas, 32, who was caught with another loaded revolver and ammunition when he was held on 26 April 2017.
At the time, he was only out of prison on licence, having been released from an 11-year stretch for opening fire on a crowded street near Wood Green Tube station in 2010.
He was jailed again – this time for a minimum 14 years – after he was found guilty of two counts of conspiracy to possess a firearm with intent to endanger life.
Ahmed, from Archway, north London, was jailed for 16 years for one count of conspiracy to possess a firearm with intent to endanger life in relation to the first incident, while middleman Elyace Hamchaoui, 23, from Arnos Grove, north London, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for the same charge.
Joshua Miller, 27, of no fixed address, was jailed for 17 years for conspiracy to possess a firearm with intent to endanger life in relation to the second incident.
Detective Chief Inspector Driss Hayoukane, of the Metropolitan Police, said: “The trio tried to exploit their identical DNA and appearance to try and evade the consequences of their actions, but the hard work of the investigation team prevented their attempts.”