Birmingham brothers jailed as police find submachine gun & other weapons at home

West Midlands Police has told how armed officers discovered a World War II submachine gun and three hand guns at the home of two Birmingham brothers.

The police raid on the property where Azim and Noweed Hussain lived on Mansell Road in Small Heath at 2.30am on July 16 last year led to their arrest and imprisonment. Detectives say seizing the weapons has saved lives.

Initially Azim, aged 34, attempted to take all responsibility and said that his brother Noweed, aged 39, was entirely innocent. But body-worn cameras on officers at the time and expert witnesses showed this was not true - with Noweed seen running out of the back of the property, putting the guns and ammunition in an outbuilding.

What weapons did police find at the brothers home?

Armed officers searched the house and, in an outbuilding attached to the house, they found two bags.

In an Armani pouch they found a 9mm self-loading handgun, with a bullet loaded into the barrel and another bullet in the magazine.

Next to this pouch was a Nike sports bag containing a shortened shotgun in three parts, an M3 0.45 calibre submachine gun and magazine, and a Webley 0.38 calibre revolver.

Also in the bag was a .45 calibre bullet, a shotgun under-grip, 35 shotgun cartridges, 15 9mm cartridge cases re-fitted with ball bearings, two 9mm cartridges and a .45 calibre cartridge.

What happened at court?

At an earlier appearance at Birmingham Crown Court Azim pleaded guilty to six counts of possession of firearms and ammunition. He had told us that he was looking after the guns for someone else who he would not name.

Noweed had pleaded not guilty to possession of the firearms and ammunition, but after a trial at Birmingham Crown Court, a jury unanimously found him guilty.

What have detectives said about the case in their own words?

Detective Constable Darren Wilkie, from the Force Priorities Team in Force CID, was the investigating officer. He said: “You do not need to be a weapons expert to understand the damage a submachine gun - made for killing in World War Two - could do on the busy streets of Birmingham.

“The fact that the handgun was loaded with a real bullet in the barrel shows that they were ready for use, either by Azim and Noweed or other people. I believe that our investigation has saved lives.

“We may never know what the brothers were planning but I suspect these were tools to commit serious crime. Thanks to the information we received and the action we took, four guns and 56 bullets are now in our secure store ready to be destroyed.”

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