A Lancashire man who was used by his girlfriend as a courier to import firearms for organised crime groups has been jailed for more than 11 years.

An investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA) found that Steven Dema, 30, was paid by his partner, Chelsea Addison, also 30, to travel to Amsterdam to collect a Zastava assault rifle, a Zoraki 9mm pistol and more than 100 rounds of ammunition. 

Dema, from Blackpool, and Addison, from Walsall, were sentenced to 11 years and nine months and eight years and six months imprisonment respectively following a hearing at Canterbury Crown Court on December 2. 

The guns and ammunition, in addition to £4,500 in cash, were recovered when Dema was stopped in a hired Mercedes sports car by Border Force officials at the Channel Tunnel terminal at Coquelles on March 18. 

Lancashire Telegraph:

NCA officers believe the duo had already successfully imported firearms for UK-based criminals.  

Investigators established that Addison had organised the same trip for Dema on three previous occasions, and the pair were using an encrypted messaging phone app called Wickr in order to conceal their criminal activities.  

When questioned, Dema, who claimed he worked as a personal trainer and a bodyguard, told NCA officers he was involved with a dancer called Chelsea Addison who he hadn’t treated very well.   

He said in retaliation for his behaviour she had organised for gang members to threaten him, and he had been forced to travel to Amsterdam to collect a suitcase from a car park.  

Lancashire Telegraph:

Dema maintained that he did not look inside the suitcase and was going to take it straight to Addison, with whom he was in constant communication during the trip as she was checking on his whereabouts.  

NCA officers arrested Addison at her home on April 30 for her controlling role in the importation.  

Addison - who said that she worked as a dancer - claimed that Dema sometimes took her phone for days on end, and was making false claims to make her the scapegoat for his criminal activities.  

However, DNA from the suitcase and its contents, analysis of phone data, and evidence of the trips to Amsterdam proved their stories were false and they had well-established roles in the importation of firearms. 

Lancashire Telegraph:

At his trial, Dema abandoned his initial claim that he had acted under duress, and stated that he had been provided with expense payments of £1,000 by Addison for each trip to Amsterdam. 

NCA investigators had also found that when Dema realised he was about to be stopped at Coquelles, he had sent messages to criminal associates involved in the importation.  

Addison and Dema had taken city breaks to Europe together, and had discussed flying business class to Jamaica and the Maldives, as well as potential holidays to the Cayman Islands and Italy. 

Branch Commander at the NCA, Martin Grace, said: “This was an attempt to import two lethal guns and enough live ammunition to cause untold damage if used on the streets.  

“Illegal firearms are used by organised crime groups to dominate and intimidate communities, to enforce control over criminal markets like the class A drugs trade, and they ruin lives when used to cause death and serious injury.  

“Stopping the supply of firearms is a priority for the NCA.

"Our investigation is not over and we will do everything we can to pursue those involved.”  

Lancashire Telegraph:

Officers from the National Firearms Targeting Centre (NFTC), which is based within the NCA and provides the central intelligence picture of illegal firearms for UK law enforcement, supported the investigation. 

Head of the NFTC, Rob Hickinbottom, said: “This investigation led to the conviction of these criminals and prevented dangerous weapons from reaching the streets of the UK.

"The NFTC endeavours to identify and disrupt the trafficking of such firearms in order to protect the public.” 

In his sentencing remarks, His Honour Judge James, at Canterbury Crown Court stated: “Both of you seem to have been seduced into criminal activity by greed.

"It is apparent that you both craved the cash rich lifestyle which often accompanies serious crime.”