Four men stopped on Black Country Route in car carrying weapons jailed for combined 25 years
Four men were travelled from Luton to the West Midlands in a car with false number plates when they were stopped near Wolverhampton.
Four men caught with a handgun and swords in a car stopped by police on the Black Country Route have been jailed for a combined more than 25 years.
The defendants Zorawar Singh, aged 31, Gurwinder Singh, aged 25, Harpandeep Singh, aged 23, and Harshehajdeep Singh, aged 20, were all in a white BMW with false plates when they were arrested at in Springvale Way off the island on September 15 last year after the officers followed it and forced it to stop.
After searching the vehicle which had been driven from Luton to the M6 before exiting at junction 10 in Walsall, the officers found phones and a 'man bag' in the stairwell of the front passenger seat which contained a ready to use self loading pistol, 40 cartridges, 11 rounds of ammunition and two swords. Zoawar Singh was the front passenger.
All were sentenced on Thursday at Wolverhampton Crown Court after being convicted of possessing a prohibited firearm, possessing ammunition without a firearm certificate and having a blade.
Judge Robert Talog Davies said: “You all initially pleaded not guilty at a plea and trial hearing in October 2025. However, Zorawar Singh you then pleaded guilty to the firearm offence in February, about a month before the trial was due to start. Gurwinder Singh pleaded guilty to the firearms offence in March some two weeks before trial. Zorawar and Gurwinder then both pleaded guilty to the blade offence on the day of trial and that resolved the indictment as far as they were both concerned.
“ Harpandeep Singh pleaded guilty on the day of trial and was subsequently found guilty on the remaining counts by the unanimous verdicts of the jury and the same for Harshehajdeep Singh. I am going to aggregate the offences by taking the firearms as the lead offence for all four of you. I will pass concurrent sentences for the remaining counts. I have looked at the sentencing guidelines and awarded credit for guilty pleas.”
The judge said discounts would be given for the three youngest defendants due to their ages.
The court heard that the fingerprints of Zorawar Singh, of Birmingham Prison, were found on the false number plates, the gun and the ammunition and Gurwinder Singh’s DNA was found on the gun and the cartridges.
Mr Graeme Logan, defending Harpandeep Singh, said: “Your Honour you will recall from the video shown to the jury that the handun was found in the footwell when Zorawar Singh was removed from the car. It looks as if the firearms fall out of the bag and falls into the footwell. It is not the case that it was being stored in the footwell ready to be used.”
He said his client, a student, came from Punjab to the UK in March 2022 to pursue a business and management degree.
On the day in question he had been to Luton to visit a relative and ended up in that vehicle. He understands and accepts the verdicts of the jury. He understands that he has to serve a significant period in prison. He accepts it humbly and has hopes for the future.”
Mr Stephen Sweeney, defending Harshehajdeep Singh also a student, said he had “ruined his life” and there was nothing in his past history that showed he was going astray.
Zorawar Singh was jailed for six years. Harpandeep Singh was jailed for seven years and Harshehajdeep Singh was jailed for six years and six months, both of Oldfield Road, Hackney. Gurwinder Singh, of Warwick Road, Southall also in London was jailed for five years and nine months. They must serve at least half the terms before being released on licence.
The judge ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the weapons.