Former Worcestershire RAF mechanic jailed for attempting to buy grenades
He's been jailed for six years.
A former RAF mechanic who tried to buy two hand grenades from the United States has been jailed for six years.
Alex Piatt-Green, 52, pleaded guilty to attempting to possess an explosive substance on or before January 26.
On Friday, Mr Justice Jeremy Baker dismissed the defendant's claim that he was acting out a "fantasy", saying the purchase was in the "context of serious organised crime."
During a hearing at the Old Bailey, the senior judge sentenced Piatt-Green to six years in prison with a further two years on extended licence.
Previously the court had heard how the defendant ordered the weapons late last year for delivery at his home in Redditch, Worcestershire, in January.
He used the encrypted Telegram app as he made an arrangement to buy two fragmentation grenades for more than ÂŁ500 in Bitcoin.
The court heard he had exchanged a message with the seller saying: "If everything goes well I will be back for handguns and rifles."
The consignment was intercepted by US authorities and two M67 hand grenades were found hidden inside legitimate goods.
The UK's National Crime Agency then arranged for delivery of a dummy parcel while keeping the defendant under surveillance.
After receiving the package Piatt-Green messaged the seller they had "landed".
Prosecutor Peter Ratcliff told the court the defendant had weapons training and had handled munitions while working in the military.
Giving evidence, Piatt-Green had claimed he had been under the influence of a "cocktail of drugs and alcohol" when he paid for the grenades.
He said: "It is wrong and it is the thrill of doing something very wrong that will magnify with my current state of mind and my use of drugs and alcohol. It was extremely thrilling."
He claimed messages with the seller were "all part of the pantomime" and he had dumped the delivery in a bin near his home.
Mr Ratliff said: "This was a very deliberate attempt to secure munitions by a defendant with a very real interest in establishing a relationship with a munitions supplier.
"This was not a fantasyland at all."
Sentencing, Mr Justice Jeremy Baker told Piatt-Green: "The prosecution do not suggest you intended the grenades for terrorist purposes or to provide them to those who would provide them for those purposes.
"However, the prosecution did not accept your basis of plea and said it would be open to the court to determine you were working as part of a group seeking to acquire dangerous weapons."
He found the defendant had committed the offence "as part of a group" and that it involved the used of encrypted messages as part of a deception.
He told the defendant the offence was so serious that only a prison sentence could be justified.