Jail for smuggler who recruited 'naive' Telford couple into international machine parts racket
The man who 'groomed' a naive Telford couple into supplying embargoed components for Iran's nuclear programme was starting a two-and-a-half year jail sentence today.
Alexander George was locked up for shipping military items to Iran, including parts for Russian MiG and US F4 Phantom planes through various companies and countries.
Paul Attwater, 65, and 66-year-old wife Iris from Ketley Park Road, Ketley, smuggled prohibited dual use aircraft parts sourced from the US to the 77-year-old's firms in Malaysia through their company Pairs Aviation for onward travel to Iran.
Each received six month suspended prison sentences at Southwark Crown Court last month after Judge Michael Grieve QC ruled they had been 'very naive' while George – sentenced at the Old Bailey on Thursday – groomed and deceived them.
Revenue and Customs (HMRC) investigators smashed the racket which they estimate made him more than £5m profit and earned the Attwaters around £500,000.
George, who lives in Long Ashton, Bristol, bought the aircraft parts from the United States and sent them to his companies in Malaysia and Dubai before illegally re routing them to Iran.
When he feared he was being investigated he searched the internet and recruited the Attwaters.
Pairs Aviation, which was operated by the couple from Crawley, East Sussex, acted as a buffer by ordering the parts and shipping them to George’s companies in Malaysia, said HMRC officials.
Mr Attwater pleaded guilty to being knowingly concerned in the export of goods with intent to evade the prohibition or restriction on such export while his wife and George, from Long Ashton, Bristol, were convicted of the same offence after a trial.
The latter was banned from being a director for nine years while the Attwaters were each disqualified for six years.
All three still face Proceeds of Crime hearings.
Simon York, Director of the Fraud Investigation Service at HMRC, said: "These three sold banned items that ended up in Iran. They didn’t care what these parts might be used for, as long as they got paid.
"This was a calculated and cynical attempt to undermine strict trade embargoes and internationally agreed controls.
"They knew the rules and weaved increasingly elaborate plans to stay under the radar."
Luke Dockwray, Senior Specialist Prosecutor at the Crown Prosecution Service, added: "Despite being warned the goods they were exporting were at risk of being used in a Weapons of Mass Destruction programme, the defendants introduced new corporate entities into the trading chain to disguise the destination of the sales, in order to continue their supply."
