Armed and dangerous: Curry house owner ‘had enough ammo to reduce Bradford to terror’

Guy Kearl, QC, spoke as he handed down prison sentences totalling nearly 60 years to four men for possessing firearms and ammunition with intent to endanger life.

Sentencing them at Leeds Crown Court yesterday, he said Zeeshan Khan, 33, of the Saffron Desi restaurant, in Leeds Road, Bradford, made the wrong decision when he feared his family was being targeted by a ruthless gang.

Khan, said to be of good character, decided to arm himself and others with a Mach 10 machine gun, a Steyr Mannlicher scout bolt action repeating rifle and a model 590 Bullpup pump action shotgun, also buying enough ammunition to bring terror to the streets of the city.

Also arrested from Bradford were Khan’s brother, David Pemberton, 37, of Belmont Avenue, and Jason Crompton, 39, of Rooks Avenue.

They were joined in the dock by Christopher Chung, 30 and Robert Parran, 34, both from Liverpool and who both have convictions for violence.

All were arrested by officers from West Yorkshire and Merseyside Police following a joint operation last year in which armed officers stopped a transit van in Bradford and found the “lethal cargo” inside.

In April two properties in Liverpool were searched and in one a methamphetamine factory was discovered and in the other a Walther P38, a 45 ACP caliber pistol, a Smith and Wesson 44, a CZ58 assault rifle, ammunition, 82,000 ecstasy tablets, 11,000 Piperazine tablets, a kilo of heroin and cash were found.