Woman is jailed for importing Taser guns

Sentencing Lesley Glover at Leeds Crown Court yesterday, Recorder Abdul Iqbal said there was no legal reason for being involved in the importation of such devices which could deliver 50,000 volts of electrical charge to those on whom they were used.

He accepted she was not responsible for paying for the guns and associated items or arranging for their importation but must have known the general contents of the packages and that they would be for onward distribution.

"Your acceptance of these packages was an important stage of their importation into the UK," the judge added.

Glover, 47, of Leicester Close, Woodhouse, Leeds, was found guilty earlier this month by a jury of improper importation of the Tasers, pepper cartridges, probes and rubber bullets.

The jury heard that on February 4 two parcels were intercepted at a Parcelforce hub sent from Taiwan and addressed to L Smith at Glover's address.

They were found to contain Taser guns and other prohibited items including pepper cartridges and rubber bullets as well as practice targets and a manual on how to operate the equipment.

Around two weeks later an undercover officer delivered the packages to Glover's home and she signed for them in the false name. She maintained she did not know what they contained.

Recorder Iqbal said the jury had rejected her account that she was too tired to notice what she was doing and intended to return the packages to the post office later. He said she had shown no surprise when filmed during the delivery.

Philip Morris, for Glover, urged the court to suspend the sentence because of her poor health and argued a jail term would mean she would lose her home.