British Army Soldier Sold ‘Deadly’ Ammunition to Undercover Cop, UK Trial Told

Kirtland Gill, a regimental sergeant major in the British Army, arrives at Southwark Crown Court in London on July 4, 2022. PA

LONDON—A regimental sergeant major in the British Army accused of stealing “deadly” ammunition and selling it, through an accomplice, to an undercover police officer posing as a gangster, told detectives money found in a safe in his bedroom was from the sale of car parts.

But prosecutor Duncan Atkinson, QC, told a jury at Southwark Crown Court the serial numbers on 45 of the £20 notes found in Technical Quartermaster Sergeant Kirtland Gill’s safe in his bedroom matched those which had been handed over by the undercover officer, identified only as D, to another soldier, Lance Sergeant Rajon Graham.

Graham, 33, has already pleaded guilty to four counts of selling ammunition between Dec. 7, 2020 and Jan. 28, 2021.

Gill, 41, denies conspiracy to sell ammunition, and possessing an illegal firearm, a Turkish-made Ekol Firat self-loading pistol, which was found in the shed of his home in Windsor when he was arrested in January 2021.

The jury has been told Graham sold 300 9mm bullets, which he referred by the slang term “sweets,” for £5,800 in cash during four meetings with D.

The court has heard Gill was a regimental sergeant major in the Coldstream Guards, an elite unit which provides protection for the Royal family at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle.

On Tuesday D gave evidence—from behind screens protecting his identity—about his dealings with Graham, who he knew as Soulj, short for Soldier.

Undercover Police Officer ‘Not Allowed to ... Instigate Criminal Activity’

He was first asked by Atkinson about the limits of his role as an undercover police officer and he explained he was “not allowed to encourage, incite or instigate any criminal activity” which would not have otherwise happened.

D said he posed as a criminal who dealt in drugs and was interested in obtaining a gun and ammunition and by December 2020 his dealings with Graham progressed to the stage where they agreed a deal for him to purchase ammunition.

On one occasion D said Graham took him into Victoria Barracks, close to Windsor Castle, and was waved through by armed guards.

D said he assumed they were there to collect the ammunition he had agreed to buy but Graham said his friend, who was a regimental sergeant major, was busy being interviewed by The Sun newspaper.

“He (Graham) said his friend was being interviewed by The Sun newspaper because he was the  first black man to run the camp and he was a warrant officer. He told me he was a regimental sergeant major,” said D.

D said Graham rang his friend several times on WhatsApp and he noticed that the name that came up on Graham’s phone was Gill, Kirtland.

He said Graham’s friend—a slim, black man in a camouflage uniform—eventually came out and got into a white Ford Transit van and they followed him to a house nearby.

Earlier the court heard that over the next month police officers kept surveillance on Gill and Graham as D arranged to buy ammunition from Graham.

The court heard that on one occasion Graham stopped off at Gill’s home in Cavalry Crescent to pick something up—the prosecution claims it was the ammunition—before he drove to meet D and handed over 100 rounds of 9mm ammunition in return for £1,900 in cash.

Members of the first battalion of Coldstream Guards participate in the Changing of the Guard ceremony at Wellington Barracks in London, on Aug. 23, 2021. Hollie Adams/Getty Images

On Jan. 28, 2021 Gill and Graham were both arrested in the back garden of Gill’s home.

Atkinson said that as police searched the garden shed at Gill’s house he told the arresting officers: “I have only one thing you might be interested in. There is like a replica. I don’t know what it is. I bought it off a guy ... it’s a replica pistol.”

Self-Loading Pistol Found in Garden Shed

Atkinson said a few minutes later the officers found the Ekol Firat pistol, which is capable of firing only gas or blanks but is a prohibited weapon under the Firearms Act, in the shed. They also found £5,440 in cash in a safe in his bedroom, which included the notes with the serial numbers matching those handed over by D to Graham.

He said Gill offered “no comment” throughout his police interviews.

Atkinson added: “But he did offer a prepared statement, saying he had no knowledge of the theft of ammunition and the money in the safe was from the sale of car parts.”

On Monday Atkinson told the court: “The Coldstream Guards have a particular responsibility for the protection of Her Majesty the Queen, but they are also an integral part of the British Army more generally. In that regard, they of course have a need for large quantities of ammunition both for combat and for training for combat.”

He said Jamaican-born Gill, who joined the army in 2001, was responsible for the management of ammunition used by the regiment in firing practice.

The trial is set to last for two weeks.