Cambridge man sentenced after conspiring to import Smith and Wesson into UK

A man has been sentenced to a hospital order after conspiring to import a firearm into the United Kingdom.

Bogdan Dumitrascu, 30, of Chalfont Close, Cambridge, admitted attempting to import a prohibited firearm*. He appeared on Friday (4 August) at Cambridge Crown Court and was sentenced to be detained in a secure mental health hospital under Section 37 of the Mental Health Act.

The offences were uncovered by the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU) cyber crime team, after a parcel containing a home theatre sound system was intercepted by US Homeland Security agents at Newark Airport in New York in April.

Found within the wooden shell of this sound system was a fully operational Smith and Wesson handgun.

Handwritten on the package’s label was Dumitrascu’s name and his home address.

Officers worked with US Homeland Security to construct a decoy package, matching the original’s appearance. This was then sent to Dumitrascu before armed officers attended his address on 12 April.

Dumitrascu was arrested at the scene and a laptop seized from his home indicated he had searched the dark web for ‘uk guns black market online’ as well as other related search terms.

Detective Constable Charlie Hare from the Regional Cyber Crime Unit said: “The sale and importation of highly deadly firearms is completely unacceptable. This joint work between international agencies has succeeded in removing a weapon from the streets and prevented anyone from getting hurt.”