Soldiers facing jail after duo at secret HQ stole £44,000 of SAS equipment that could now be in the hands of terror groups
Police fear kit nicked by three crooked soldiers may have found its way to criminal or terror groups
TWO soldiers stole more than £44,000 of equipment from the SAS — which could now be in the hands of terrorists.
Army stores NCOs Craig Davenport and Stephen Suffield nicked kit to order from the SAS’s base for crooked Andrew Stevens, including night vision goggles, stun grenades, flare launchers and body armour.
Stevens, 41, who ran a paintball park, then sold it on to contacts in the Far East. Military police fear some gear may have found its way to criminals or terror groups.
The three men have admitted plotting to steal from the Ministry of Defence and will be sentenced later this month.
The trio set up a WhatsApp group called “Boys Toys” where they discussed what items could be nicked from SAS storerooms in Hereford.
Sergeant Davenport, 33, posted photos of shelves full of gear and gave Stevens a “shopping list” of equipment he could sell to Japan and Hong Kong.
He covered his tracks by setting up a fake ID for a “Sgt Smith” using the registration number of a trooper who retired from the SAS in 2008.
And he masked the thefts by claiming items had been sent for repair.
They got away with the racket for nine months until Stevens tried to smuggle gear to Hong Kong on a jet at Heathrow.
Radioactive material in night vision goggles set off airport security scanners.
Officers then found 18 stun grenades, silencers, flare launchers and other kit at Stevens’ home in Waterlooville, Hants.
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Davenport was arrested a few days later. Stores manager Suffield, in his 30s, was flown home from a tour of duty in Afghanistan. The trio all pleaded guilty at a Portsmouth crown court hearing.
Suffield, who had gambling and debt problems, stole between £7,000 and £9,000 worth of gear and pocketed about £5,000 from the conspiracy.
Davenport claimed most of the stuff he stole was “scrap from bins”.
Stevens made around £29,000 from sales to a single Japanese client.
He also sold a stolen PVS-14 night sight to a military collector at one of his paintball sessions.
A source said “The two servicemen are a disgrace to their uniforms.
“To blacken the name of the SAS is a scandal.
“All three would have known this kind of specialist equipment is prized by terrorists and criminals, and that could be where the people who bought it from Stevens would be looking to move it on.
“Equipment meant to be used by the SAS could be used against our armed services and the public.
“These three should have the book thrown at them.”
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