Petar Petrov thought he was makin' a quick buck, but the feds had other ideas. The 57-year-old from Varna, Bulgaria, tried to sneak 54 handguns and 764 rounds of 9mm ammo into the UK hidden in spare tyres on his rented Mercedes Sprinter van. Border Force officers caught him red-handed at Dover’s Eastern Docks on February 4.
A scan of the van revealed the deadly stash: 24 pistols under one tyre, 30 more in another. Each gun was fully loaded and ready to fire. Petrov also had a couple of knives and 1,000 Euros in cash, likely part payment for his risky run. He clammed up during questioning.
Petrov was convicted on July 10 at Canterbury Crown Court and today got 12 years inside. NCA senior investigating officer Tracey Gasson had this to say: "Thanks to some brilliant work by Border Force colleagues, this haul of deadly weapons and a massive amount of ammunition have been kept off the streets of the UK."