Two men sentenced for firearms offences

Date published: 01 December 2008

A man has today, Monday 1 December 2008, been jailed at Manchester Crown Court Crown Square after admitting a number of firearms offences after officers recovered a shotgun and thousand of rounds of ammunition following raids in Bury.

Wayne Robert Catterall (born 24/02/1984), of Swallow Drive, Bury, pleaded guilty to selling or transferring ammunition unlawfully, possessing ammunition without a certificate and possession of a firearm at an earlier hearing at Bolton Crown Court.

He was sentenced to a total of four years in prison, two years each for selling ammunition and possessing ammunition, to run consecutively, and two years for possession of a firearm, to run concurrently.

On Wednesday 15 October 2008, Errol Lloyd Tudor (born 03/06/64), from the Rochdale area, was found guilty in his absence of possessing ammunition following a trial at Manchester Crown Court Crown Square.

He has today been sentenced to three years in his absence.

On Friday 25 January 2008, police from GMP's Xcalibre Organised Crime Unit carried out a search at an address on Swallow Drive. During the search a double barrelled sawn off shotgun, together with eight loose cartridges, was recovered.

Catterall was arrested on 31 January 2008.

Following further inquiries two other men were later arrested when officers from the Xcalibre Organised Crime Unit executed a warrant at an addresses on Calf Hey Close, Radcliffe and an armed strike was conducted by officers on a Fiat Punto (driven by Tudor) on Ainsworth Road, Bury, earlier this year. Almost a thousand rounds of ammunition were recovered in the raids.

On Thursday 29 May 2008, Michel Maurice Metcalf (born 06/05/59) of Calf Hey Close, Radcliffe, was jailed for two years after he pleaded guilty to possessing and supplying ammunition.

Detective Sergeant Nicholas Edge of the Xcalibre Organised Crime Unit said: "Gun crime is a very real and very serious problem and today's result highlights the good work being undertaken in Bury and across Greater Manchester to combat it.

"Catterall armed himself with a deadly weapon and thankfully that has now been seized and he is off the streets."

Police still want to trace Tudor, who is currently on the run.

Anyone with any information about his whereabouts is asked to contact Greater Manchester Police on 0161 872 5050.