A former Coldstream Guard is facing a jail term for selling army ammunition to an underworld armourer.
Rajon Graham, 34, was responsible for the ceremonial kit used by the elite regiment which protects the monarchy and parades with swords and bearskins at Wellington Barracks, near Buckingham Palace.
He sold 300 9mm bullets wrapped in Bacofoil bags for £5,800 and called them ‘sweets,’ Southwark Crown Court heard.
Graham admitted four counts of selling or transferring ammunition.
He was arrested along with Kirtland Gill, 42, who was the first black Regimental Sergeant Major in the elite unit.
Rajon Graham (pictured), 34, is facing a jail term after admitting four counts of selling or transferring ammunition
Gill worked at the Victoria Barracks, near Windsor Castle in Berkshire and both men had access to the bullets, issued for firing practice.
Gill, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, denied any knowledge of the plot and said he did not know his friend was selling bullets to an undercover officer, posing as a criminal.
He claimed Graham planted a gun, that turned out to be a replica pistol, in his shed.
Gill was cleared by a jury of conspiracy to sell or transfer ammunition and possession of a prohibited weapon.
Judge David Tomlinson is due to sentence Graham at a later date, still to be fixed.
Speaking from behind a screen, the undercover detective who set up the sting told how four transactions took place between 7 December 2020 and 28 January 2021.
The officer claimed Graham tried to call his regimental sergeant major as the deal was done.
‘For me, I was nervous of being on a military camp, the way I was portraying myself as a criminal, especially with soldiers in the vehicle,’ the officer said.
‘I explained I was nervous and I also said I thought it was too hot, which I meant it was too risky. He kept saying that it was fine, that I was with him and that everything would be okay.
‘Shortly after he was saying that I could go with him into the armoury to view the rifles.
Kirtland Gill (pictured), who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, denied any knowledge of the plot and said he did not know his friend was selling bullets to an undercover officer, posing as a criminal. He was found not guilty
‘I decided that was a bad idea. It was a challenge to go on the army base but now to go into an armoury with live weapons was what I perceived to be a serious criminal [sic] and I was not prepared to do that.’
Asked what he gave Graham in return for the ammunition, D said: ‘I gave him £1,000 in cash’.
On another occasion, in January 2021, D called Graham to find out if he could still get ‘the sweeties’.
‘Graham said he could and he said he could the next day but not early,’ the officer said.
‘He called back to say he would do me a deal, 100 rounds for £1,900. I agreed to it provisionally but said I would need to confirm.’
The two agreed to meet the next day at 5pm and Graham supplied D with the ammunition for £1,900 cash.
They met again a couple of weeks later, at the end of January 2021, where D agreed to move the excess ammunition via his ‘links’.
Describing their last meeting, on 28 January, D told the court how he’d set up a call with another undercover officer known as ‘Dave’.
‘Dave told me he wanted ammunition, so I asked Graham if he could do more. He wanted it as soon as possible, right away.
‘He said he could do more. Another 100, so he could provide 200 rounds of ammunition.
‘In total, the price agreed for 200, [Graham] said 3.8, which I understood to be £3,800.’
Graham and Gill were arrested on January 28, 2021.
The prosecution claimed Bacofoil zipper bags recovered at Gill’s address were from the same batch of bags used to wrap the ammunition Graham sold to ‘D’.
When police searched Gill’s home in Windsor they found a pistol in his shed.
But Gill said he put it there when Graham had left it in a Ford Galaxy he was stripping for parts.
He said of Graham: ‘He was living a double life. I question whether he’s mentally stable.’