A man has been given a six-year custodial sentence after a loaded revolver was found at the filling station he worked at.
Sultan Arif, 33 and from Rowley Regis, West Midlands, worked at a Gulf Petrol Station in Saltley, Birmingham. As well as his job at the forecourt, West Midlands Police believe he has “links to gang criminality in the Alum Rock and Washwood Heath areas of Birmingham”, adding that he is “well known” to them.
While he has only just been sentenced, the raid that uncovered the revolver took place in January 2020. The gun had four bullets in its cylinder and had been hidden between two water butts on the forecourt.
Officers also discovered a loaded sawn-off shotgun, a spare live cartridge and five used ones hidden in the boot of a Vauxhall Vectra parked at the site.
More shotgun cartridges were found secreted around the forecourt as was a stun gun, which had been hidden in a fire-extinguisher cabinet.
Arif admitted possessing the revolver and its ammunition after forensic work linked him to the weapon.
West Midlands Police note Arif has a previous conviction for possession of a sawn-off shotgun and ammunition; officers consider he “poses a significant risk to the community”.
The raid that uncovered the revolver was part of Operation Target, an initiative set up by the force to tackle serious and organised crime.
