Prisoner and girlfriend guilty of running machine gun smuggling business using Parcelforce

Wandsworth Prison inmate Alexander Mullings, 23, built a firearms business from his prison cell using stashed mobile phones to co-ordinate with accomplices outside prison.

His ex-girlfriend, Emily Ciantar, 20, was also found guilty by a jury at the Old Bailey this afternoon of conspiring with Mullings to possess firearms with intent to endanger life.

Mulllings and Ciantar were found guilty this afternoon. She had photographed herself holding a gun (below)

Police seized three Skorpion machine guns between April and June last year, two of which contained 74 and 100 rounds of ammunition.

But five other lethal weapons delivered via Parcelforce to north London between January and March were not recovered.

Police have since seized two Skorpion guns in London, but it is not known if they were imported by Mullings.

The machine guns, first used by the Czechoslovakian army and which can fire up to 1,000 rounds a minute and have been known to sell for more than £3,000 on the black market. 

The first gun was recovered during a dramatic firearms raid in Commonside East, Mitcham in April.

Spencer Inglis, 24, was arrested during the raid and told a police officer: "I'll find you on your day off and shoot you."

Inglis, also on trial, was found guilty of possession of a prohibited weapon.

Mullings, who goes by the street name "Smokey", used hidden mobile phones to import and trade firearms with the help of Ciantar between January and June last year.

The Wimbledon Guardian can now reveal he is a violent and prolific offender, who was already serving a 13 year sentence for theft, robbery and possession of drugs when he started masterminding the importation of lethal weapons from his prison cell.

Mullings, who is from the Holloway area of north London, was also convicted in 2008 of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

Giving evidence during the four-week trial, Ciantar admitted delivering the packages, but said she was being threatened by a Holloway gang lord, named in court as "Mr X", who she claimed told her he would kill her and her grandmother if she didn't smuggle the guns.

Ciantar was arrested in June after police found 31 mobile phones and nearly £10,000 in cash concealed in a speaker, DVD player and make-up case at Mulling's mother's house in Sutton, where Ciantar had been staying.

Photos found on a Blackberry seized by police during the Sutton raid showed images of a Zoraki machine pistol, or imitation pistol. The gun is similar to a Turkish-made pistol with a partially obstructed barrel used for discharging black cartridges and flares.

The wrist holding the gun in the photos had an identical tattoo to one on Ciantar's wrist. She admitted delivering the gun to an address in Reading last January and sending photos of the gun to Mullings, who claimed he thought it was an imitation firearm.

The court heard how she travelled by taxi to Commonside East in April in Mitcham, where undercover officers saw her transfer a bag to Mitcham man Mr Inglis, also on trial.

In a dramatic firearms raid later that night police found a Skorpion machine gun, 74 rounds of ammo, two magazines and £480 cash in a black rucksack.

Appearing in the dock alongside Mullings and Ciantar today, Inglis (below) was found guilty of possessing a prohibited weapon.

Islington woman Sarah Anderson, 24, who faced joint charges, was cleared on all counts.

Finsbury Park man Joseph Macgillivray, 55, was also cleared of all counts. 

Detective Chief Inspector Rebecca Reeves of Trident said: "These Skorpion sub-machine guns are some of the most dangerous weapons I have ever seen reach the hands of UK criminals.

"They are relatively small and easy to conceal, but they can fire semi-automatic rounds. What's more, the group had managed to find a supplier who was willing to sell them high quality ammunition.

"Alex Mullings dominated this group and even convinced the others to present a string of lies in court to protect him.

"Police acted quickly to investigate the links between the members of this group and recover the firearms.

"I have no doubt this has prevented shootings that would otherwise have taken place.”

Mullings, Ciantar and Inglis are due to be sentenced on February 26. 

MOBILE PHONES IN PRISONS

The verdict comes as proposed new legislation by the Ministry of Justice and Home Office discussed in Parliament earlier this month could see phone networks compelled to cut off mobile phones being used by prisoners.

Detective Sergeant Matthew Husher, a lead Trident officer in the Mullings case, said it had become more difficult for prison staff to prevent mobile phones being brought into prisons with some models matching the shape and size of a car key fob.

Prison visitors are also known to conceal SIM cards in their mouth.

In 2013, 7,451 illicit mobile phones or SIM cards were seized from UK prisons.

Security measures already used by prisons to detect prohibited phones include: body searches, x-ray machines, metal detectors, CCTV cameras and body orifice scanners.

HOW DID THEY SNEAK THE ILLEGAL FIREARMS INTO BRITAIN BY POST?

Mullings co-ordinated the importation of eight parcels to the UK from a Parcelforce depot in Cologne, Germany between January and May last year.

Six out of the eight packages failed to be intercepted by police or Parcelforce as they arrived in the UK.

A spokesman for Royal Mail, which owns Parcelforce, said: "Where Royal Mail has any suspicion that illegal items are being sent through any of our networks, we work closely with the police and other authorities to assist their investigations and to prevent such activities from happening.

"For obvious reasons, we are not able to give any further details about our security measures as this would compromise our operations."

Firearms consultant David Dyson who has more than 30 years' experience in gun law, said illegal firearms being posted to the UK is seen "occasionally" but not often.

In 2006 Robert Tryer, 51, was convicted of posting blank-firing guns from Germany to Manchester, which were then reactivated.

The gun-running operation he ran with two accomplices was only foiled when a consignment of guns arrived at the wrong address.

LETHAL CZECH WEAPONS

Three Skorpion machine pistols were seized by police between April and June last year.

Two of the guns were in full working order. The third gun frequently misfired when tested by police, but was able to fire a burst of two rounds in automatic mode.

They can fire about 1,000 rounds per minute and have been known to sell for more than £3,000 on the black market.

The guns were used by Czechoslovakian army in the 1960s. The Dark Knight and The Matrix films have both featured the guns.

The model also appeared on the James Bond Goldeneye Nintendo game as the Klobb.