Would-be gun importer receives increased sentence after referral to the Court of Appeal

A man who attempted to import a gun into the UK has received an increased prison sentence after his case was referred to the Court of Appeal by the then Solicitor General, Alex Chalk QC MP.

From November 2021-February 2022, Haroon Iqbal, now 32, ordered various gun parts from the dark web and gave the seller detailed instructions on how to hide them in packages to avoid detection.

He was caught after unknowingly communicating with an undercover US Law Enforcement officer while carrying out his plan.

On 26 May 2022, Iqbal was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court to 2 years 3 months’ imprisonment for attempting to possess a prohibited weapon.

Following the sentencing, the then Solicitor General, Alex Chalk QC MP, referred Iqbal’s sentence to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme as he felt that the original sentence was too low.

On 27 July 2022 the Court found his original sentence to be unduly lenient and increased it to 3 years and 9 months’ imprisonment.

Speaking after the hearing, the now Solicitor General Edward Timpson CBE QC MP said:

Iqbal devised a sophisticated plan to bring a prohibited weapon into the UK, and knowingly tried to evade law enforcement to achieve this.

I welcome the decision to increase his sentence, which better reflects the serious nature of this offence and its potential consequences had Iqbal been successful.