Gang boss 'sent weapons-for-sale list' to OCGs

A gang boss who sent round a list of military-grade weapons to UK crime groups has pleaded guilty to a range of firearms offences, the National Crime Agency (NCA) has said.

Philip Waugh, 39, from Warrington, was arrested in the Spanish villa he was renting in September 2024 following a four-year NCA investigation into the sale of weapons on encrypted platform EncroChat.

Waugh smuggled the guns to the UK, where his right-hand man Robert Brazendale, 37, took possession of them and provided them to customers from various organised crime groups, the NCA said.

Waugh was extradited to the UK and faced Liverpool Crown Court on Friday where he admitted a range of firearm offences.

He also admitted conspiring to inflict grievous bodily harm in which he instructed an accomplice to throw acid in a victim's face.

The agency said Waugh had told Jonathan Gordon, a member of Liverpool's Deli Mob, to "cook" the intended victim with acid, but the plan was foiled when Gordon was approached by police on the day of the intended attack, causing him to flee.

"Just need him blind and face melted," Waugh messaged Gordon.

In June 2022, Gordon, 37, of Kirkdale, Liverpool, was jailed for life for throwing acid in a man's face and plotting to blind others.

Brazendale, of Selworthy Drive, Warrington also admitted conspiring to inflict grievous bodily harm over the plot.

In February 2022, Brazendale was jailed for 11 years and three months (later reduced to 10 years on appeal) for transferring other firearms from the gun list.

On Friday, he admitted new firearms offences committed with Waugh.

Waugh, who has a previous conviction for domestic assault of a partner, and Brazendale, will return to court for sentencing on 27 June.

The NCA said it launched an investigation into Waugh after seeing an EncroChat user called Aceprospect, who was operating from abroad, using the platform to sell weapons including AK47 firearms, a Skorpion machine gun and an Uzi machine gun.

NCA senior investigating officer, Ben Rutter said Waugh "supplied an array of terrifying automatic and semi-automatic weaponry to offenders who were planning horrific crimes".

"He didn't care at all about who might be killed in the process, he only cared about money," he added, describing Waugh as "an extremely dangerous offender".

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