Ealing Man Jailed After Dramatic Arrest by Armed Police

Gurwinder Singh found in possession of gun and five swords

Gurwinder Singh by the roadside after he was detained by police . Picture: West Midlands Police

A 25-year-old man from Ealing has been jailed for nearly six years after armed police recovered a loaded handgun, ammunition and multiple swords during a dramatic vehicle stop linked to a violent gang attack in Birmingham.

Gurwinder Singh was one of four men arrested when West Midlands Police firearms officers intercepted a white BMW on the Black Country Route near Spring Vale Island, Wolverhampton. The car had been identified as the getaway vehicle used three days earlier in a brutal assault on a construction worker in Ruskin Street, Birmingham, on 12 September last year.

The victim was beaten with metal poles, suffering two broken legs and a broken arm, and required surgery. The attackers fled in the BMW, prompting a major police investigation.

Body-worn footage released by West Midlands Police shows armed officers surrounding the vehicle, smashing the driver’s and passenger’s windows with a metal breaching tool and ordering the occupants out at gunpoint.

A man in a yellow T-shirt is seen being pulled from the front passenger seat as officers shout commands. Moments later, officers discover a handgun loaded with 11 rounds lying in the shattered glass of the passenger footwell. Several swords and other weapons were found in the rear of the vehicle.

All four men were arrested at the roadside and later charged with firearms and weapons offences.

At Wolverhampton Crown Court on 9 July, Gurwinder Singh admitted possession of a firearm, ammunition and five swords. He was sentenced to five years and 11 months in prison.

Detectives believe the loaded handgun and swords recovered from the BMW would “no doubt have gone on to be used in crime to harm and threaten others.”

Harpandeep Singh, 23, of Hackney, was jailed for seven years after being found guilty of possessing the firearm and ammunition and admitting possession of swords. Harshehajdeep Singh, 21, was jailed for six years and eight months after being found guilty of possessing the firearm, ammunition and swords. Zorawar Singh, 31, admitted possession of the firearm, ammunition and five swords and received six years and two months.

Detective Constable Kyle Bowering of West Midlands Police’s major crime unit said the operation had prevented further harm.

“This investigation has led to the recovery of a loaded gun, as well as swords, which would no doubt have gone on to be used in crime to harm and threaten others. These weapons have now been taken off the streets, and those caught with them have been put behind bars for a number of years.”