Notorious drugs boss guilty of firearms charges

JURY TOOK ALMOST TWO WEEKS TO DELIVER VERDICT

- By MARTIN NAYLOR

ONE of Nottinghamshire’s most notorious criminals has been convicted of gun charges.

Following a four-month long trial at Nottingham Crown Court, a jury took almost two weeks to find former drugs lord Gary Hardy guilty of charges of conspiracy to possess firearms with intent to endanger life, conspiracy to sell or transfer prohibited weapons and conspiracy to convert blank firearms into firearms.

Officers stopped a vehicle near Measham, Leicestershire, on August 23, 2023, and recovered four weapons, each with a silencer and multiple rounds of ammunition, Nottinghamshire Police said.

Hardy, of Ravenshead, was arrested and charged, the force confirmed at the time.

Hardy, now 61, was jailed for 20 years in 2008 after being found guilty of conspiracy to supply heroin and amphetamines, money laundering and possessing criminal property.