Hearing arms and ammunitions caught while buying from the dark web is not new to us but today a 14-year old boy was caught while trying to buy a sub-machine gun and 100 rounds of ammunition from the dark web and was brought in the court in Northen Ireland.
The crime was committed between March 27 to April 7 of 2017. The teenager was detained in a police operation at the Riverside retail park, in Coleraine, Northern Ireland, on Thursday morning.
The court charged him with attempting to possess a firearm and ammunition with intent to endanger life. Police told he had handed over £150 for ammunition to an operative for buying the gun.
He appeared in Ballymena Magistrates court in County Antrim wearing a grey hoodie and red T-shirt accompanied by his father and 3 police officers.
A Police officer of Northern Ireland told the court,”A suspect believed to reside in Northern Ireland engaged online over the dark web in an attempt to acquire a firearm.”
She said covert evidence was obtained between 23 March and 6 April and a meeting was arranged for last Thursday during which the boy handed over £150 in cash for 100 rounds of ammunition.
During the police interrogation, the boy gave a well pre-prepared statement naming a Jamaican man who had asked him to collect the blank ammunition and deactivated gun.
The boy told,”The weapon was ordered through a selling platform on the dark web”.
The detective officer opposed bail for the boy because he was purchasing the gun only to cause serious injury to others.
The detective added in her statement,”The account provided was somewhat unbelievable. He provided an account that he was purchasing a gun for a male that was a Jamaican national living in Northern Ireland who he was friendly with on Facebook”.
He had no friends on facebook that would match the profile of the 40-year old and requested the court not to release him since he might erase the whatever evidence that was left online.
The court gave bail to the boy later today with a £500 and conditions including staying at home overnight and not possessing a mobile phone or any other internet connected device.
Due to Defence lawyer Derwin Harvey told police didn’t provide enough evidence to support the client’s intent and point out it was all “Guesswork”.
The District Judge ordered him to sign in at his arrival and departure at school if he breaks it he might me spending months in a youth justice center.
The 14-year-old is due to appear in Coleraine magistrates court again on 25 April.