Convicted drug dealer sentenced to five more years jail time for firearm found in Sandwell

A convicted drug dealer, Gurvinder Dari, has been sentenced to a further five years behind bars after police linked him to a firearm found in a Sandwell raid. The warrant was executed in Tipton in December 2021.

Officers found a 9mm pistol concealed within a man bag under a bed at the address of Simon Malhi. Police also recovered five rounds of ammunition and cannabis.

Subsequent investigations uncovered that 30-year-old Gurvinder Dari had handed over a bag with a firearm inside to Malhi. A search of Dari’s premises later exposed an large-scale drug dealing operation.

A large amount of Class-A drugs were seized along with cash. Dari and his associates were sentenced to 12 years for drugs supply, police said. Dari was sentenced to a further five years for possession of a firearm and ammunition to be served on top of his existing prison sentence.

Malhi had previously received a six-year prison sentence in 2022 after he admitted to possession of a firearm, ammunition and Class-B drugs.

Detective Constable Ed Costello of West Midlands Police said: "We obtained CCTV footage of Dari handing Malhi a man bag containing the firearm which could have been used for further criminality. Dari got Malhi to do his dirty work for him and hid the dangerous weapon at his address.

"However, we're well-versed in carrying out such searches so we were able to recover the weapon along with the ammunition. Dari will now face extra time behind bars."