Cambridgeshire Man To Pay After Illegally Exporting Gun Making Equipment

25 November 2014, 06:43 | Updated: 25 November 2014, 06:44

A man from Cambridgeshire must pay almost £70,000 for illegally exporting weapon making equipment to Iran.

Gary Summerskill, from Burwell in Cambridgeshire, must pay £68,000 within six months or serve a further 15 months in jail. His company, Delta Pacific Manufacturing Limited, was ordered to pay £1,072,000.

Summerskill was jailed for 30 months in March 2014 after an investigation by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

During the investigation HMRC found he had attempted to conceal the illegal export of alloy valves to Iran. Alloy valves are currently subject to an export ban to various countries including Iran because of their potential to be used in the construction of weapons.

Peter Millroy, Assistant Director, Criminal Investigation, HMRC said:

"Summerskill knew that he was acting illegally - he manipulated a system which has been put in place to protect public safety simply to line his own pockets. He has not only paid the price by losing his liberty but he now has to pay back the money he has made from his criminal activities or face more time in jail.

"Our work doesn't stop with sentencing - we will pursue criminal profits to reclaim them for the taxpayer and the UK economy."  

Delta Pacific Manufacturing Limited made three illegal shipments of alloy valves, valued at £3.4 million, to Iran without an export licence. Summerskill attempted to skirt the ban by diverting the components through Hong Kong and Azerbaijan.

HMRC investigators found evidence that Summerskill was fully aware that the final destination of the goods was Iran and that they were subject to an export ban.