A weapons trader has been jailed for selling illegal pepper sprays he boasted would bring an attacker “to their knees”.
Unemployed Ikram Shah flogged sprays disguised as cigarette lighters and lipsticks. He boasted on eBay: “Brings an attacker to their knees in one spray.”
Police who raided his home also found a series of indecent pictures and videos of children as young as four.
Shah’s pepper spray sideline came to light when a box of 300 were found by Border Force staff at Coventry International Postal Hub in Bordesley Green on July 16, 2013.
Another 19, disguised as lipsticks, were found at the 27-year-old’s home, Birmingham Crown Court heard.
And National Crime Agency officers who examined his laptop and a Blackberry discovered 41 indecent images of children.
Daniel Oscroft, prosecuting, said Shah knew the sale of pepper spray was illegal in the UK.
He said: “There was no attempt to disguise who they were for. A search for the defendant’s online activity established he had been involved in the sale of similar items on eBay. A number of entries clearly showed on sale disguised lipsticks or cigarette lighters as self defence sprays.”
One of Shah’s items bragged: “Brings an attacker to their knees in one spray.”
Shah, pictured, of Cherrywood Road, Bordesley Green, admitted importing a prohibited item, two counts of possession of a prohibited weapon and seven of possessing indecent images of children. He was jailed for two years.
