Three people have been jailed for their part in trying to arm Brighton terrorist Edward Little who planned a mass shooting in London on the day of Queen Elizabeth’s funeral last year.
Little, of Pelham Street, Brighton, is due to be jailed for preparing acts of terrorism at the Central Criminal Court, better known as the Old Bailey, in London, on Friday 15 December.
Yesterday (Monday 27 November) three members of an organised crime group were sentenced for their part in selling a firearm to Little after an investigation by Counter Terrorism Policing South East (CTPSE).
They pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transfer a prohibited firearm on Tuesday 7 November at the Inner London Crown Court and were jailed yesterday for more than 36 years.
The group conspired to sell Little a firearm and ammunition which had been adapted to make a viable lethal weapon.
Little pleaded guilty on Friday 19 May to planning a terrorist attack in Hyde Park, London. He was arrested on Friday 23 September last year on his way to collect the firearm from the gang.
As a result, the firearm never made it into Little’s possession and it was recovered by police after search warrants at addresses controlled by the gang. This coincided with several arrests.
The court accepted that the gang members did not know that the firearm was intended for use in a terrorist attack.
But it was established that their intention was to sell a functioning weapon and that it was being sold to someone who is now a convicted terrorist.
Tyler King, 21, of Denmark Hill, Lewisham pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transfer a prohibited firearm as well as having a prohibited firearm and three counts of having ammunition without lawful authority. He was jailed for 10 years and nine months.
Caleb Wenyeve, 21, of Blidworth Close, Strelley in Nottingham was jailed for 12 years after also entering a guilty plea to conspiracy to transfer a prohibited firearm.
Reis Forde, 27, also known as Rex, was jailed last year for drug dealing in Brighton. He was sentenced yesterday to a further 13 years and six months in prison.
He was already in Rochester Prison after being jailed for four years at Hove Crown Court, having been caught with drugs at a flat in Montpelier Road, Brighton, in May 2021.
Before he was jailed in February 2022, Forde also admitted being involved in dealing cocaine in Worthing in March 2020.
The offence took place just three weeks after he was arrested and questioned by police about the drug-related death of a 17-year-old girl at a flat in Hove.
No charges have been brought in relation to the death of Sophie Read in a basement flat in St Aubyns, in Hove.
Detective Chief Superintendent Olly Wright, head of Counter Terrorism Policing South East, said: “King, Wenyeve and Forde were working together to supply a viable firearm along with ammunition.
“Although they didn’t know Edward Little’s plan to commit a terrorist attack with the firearm, they entered into an agreement with Little to sell him a fully functioning gun and live ammunition.
“They went a step further by sending a video of the working mechanisms of the weapon as proof to the buyer that it was a viable firearm.
“This organised crime group was unraveled quickly. The case is a prime example of the skill of our teams in counter-terrorism policing and our determination to disrupt and bring to justice criminals whose activity could facilitate terrorism or harm our national security.
“All cases linked to terrorism will be vigorously pursued and brought before the courts.”
After a trial, a jury acquitted them all on Friday (24 November) of a further charge of conspiring to supply a firearm with intent to endanger life.
Another defendant, Sinead Doyle, 26, also known as Sinead Lillywhite-Doyle, of Lyon Street, Bognor, was found not guilty on all counts by a jury at the same hearing.
She had been on trial for conspiracy to transfer a prohibited firearm and conspiracy to supply a firearm with intent to endanger life.
