A FORMER MARINE who has a home in Shropshire has admitted two charges relating to smuggling handguns into the UK in his luggage.

Steven Greenoe, of St George’s Street, Frankwell, Shrewsbury, was alleged to have imported at least 66 weapons into the country from his home in North Carolina before selling them on.

The 37-year-old faces being jailed for up to 30 years when he is sentenced in June.

He admitted exporting firearms from the US without a licence and travelling in foreign commerce to deal in firearms without a licence when he appeared in court in Greenville, North Carolina yesterday.

Police fear the guns were sold on to criminal gangs in north-west England.

Greenoe, who lived with his British wife Elizabeth in Shrewsbury, described himself online as a “security and investigations” specialist.

He claimed to be the head of Jolie Rouge Group, a firm specialising in protecting shipping off eastern Africa from pirates.

A drive-by shooting in Wythenshawe, Manchester, last October, in which a man was hit in the leg, has allegedly been linked to a gun bought by Greenoe.

Documents posted in US courts reveal the suspected gun runner was stopped by staff but talked his way on to a flight. He claimed to be an arms salesman returning from a gun show.

News of his alleged activities sent alarm bells ringing on both sides of the Atlantic about the effectiveness of flight security checks.

George Holding, US Attorney for Raleigh, North Carolina, said he was concerned the weapons were not detected at Raleigh-Durham International Airport, where he believes Greenoe left the country from.

He said: “I believe it concerns those who are responsible at the airport, and I believe they are taking measures to solve the problem.”

Attorney Mark Edwards, representing Greenoe, said prosecutors had dismissed 48 other charges against his client, who joined the Marines at the age of 17 before receiving an honourable discharge two years later because of his health.

By Russell Roberts