Violent man in possession of machine gun jailed

A 38-year-old man has been sentenced to more than 15 years in prison for serious violence and firearms offences.

On January 24 this year, Tadas Diksas was en-route to a storage unit in Northampton where he kept second-hand clothing that he would collect and sell as a legitimate business.

Driving to the same destination, and coincidentally also involved in the same line of legitimate work, was another man, who had never met Diksas in his life.

However, Diksas recognised him as a competitor and as the man returned to his car, Diksas appeared with a pistol in his hand - striking the man over the head with the weapon, whilst discharging a round.

Thankfully, the shot missed the victim, but he was taken to hospital with a head injury.

Diksas drove away from the scene but was soon located by police and arrested.

Officers then made their way to his storage unit and once inside, found 13 firearms and a quantity of ammunition, including a Škorpion machine pistol with 120 live rounds, 11 Atak Arms Stalker pistols, one Kervan Arms pistol, and a smoke grenade.

All of the pistols were found to have originally had a blocked barrel, but these had been removed, and three of the pistols had also had their serial numbers removed.

An investigation led by Northamptonshire Police’s Serious and Organised Crime Team (SOCT) found Diksas’ DNA on one of the triggers and a search of his home address also uncovered a bullet press, a vacuum sealer, and a gun cleaning kit.

Through painstaking analysis of all of the evidence, including a thorough review of Diksas’ phone, detectives were able to show he was a member of a large Lithuanian chat group solely dedicated to firearms, and that he had been making attempts to purchase 9mm ammunition from Ukraine. He had also researched how to use the dark web to purchase firearms.

Diksas, previously of Fitzgerald Road, Little Billing, Northampton, was subsequently charged with possessing prohibited firearms for sale or transfer, possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, unlawful wounding and possessing ammunition without a firearm certificate or authority.

After pleading guilty to the offences at Northampton Crown Court in August, Diksas returned to the same court last week (October 31) where he was sentenced to a total of 15 years and nine months in prison.

Sentencing Diksas, Her Honour Judge Lucking described him as “an illegal arms dealer, operating a clandestine and dangerous business”.

She also commended Northamptonshire Police’s swift and professional response to the incident which quickly identified and arrested Diksas, and located the illegal firearms with no further incident.

Lead investigator - Detective Sergeant Keith Morson from Northamptonshire Police’s SOCT, said: “Tadas Diksas is a very violent and dangerous man, who had at his disposal, a large cache of illegal and deadly weapons with ammunition.

“It gives me great satisfaction that not only has he been jailed for a very lengthy period, but also that we have protected the community by taking these lethal weapons off the streets of Northamptonshire.

“I am very pleased that HHJ Lucking recognised and commended the excellent work of Northamptonshire Police, across numerous teams, who were responsible for co-ordinating the initial response to this incident.

“I’d also like to thank DC Drage from the SOCT who thoroughly investigated this complicated case with tenacity and professionalism, which resulted in the securing of some very serious charges against Diksas.

“I hope that the sentencing gives the victim some sense of justice and closure.”

Detective Inspector Carrie Powers from Northamptonshire Police’s SOCT, said “This sentencing reflects the serious nature of firearms offences and sends a clear message that we will relentlessly pursue anyone who brings guns onto our streets.

“I would like to thank all the officers involved in this case, from the first responders and the Criminal Investigation Department to our colleagues in the Serious and Organised Crime Team for their dedication and commitment in bringing Diksas to justice.”