A CHESTER man is among three charged as part of a National Crime Agency investigation into the large-scale supply and possession of guns – including sub machine guns and assault rifles.

Hitesh Patel, 26, of Garden Lane, Chester, was arrested on Tuesday, October 20 along with two other men in the UK – Bilal Khan, 32, of Mersey Road, Didsbury, Manchester and Umair Zaheer, 33, of Somerset Road, Eccles, Manchester.

All three have been charged with conspiracy to possess firearms and ammunition with intent to endanger life or to enable another person to endanger life.

They were due to appear at Manchester Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, October 21.

A fourth man was arrested in Estepona, Spain.

In an internationally co-ordinated strike, Robert Brazendale, 33, was arrested by the Spanish National Police in Estepona on the Costa del Sol, on a European Arrest Warrant, on suspicion of the same offence.

Brazendale, of Warrington, has been remanded to custody in Spain and faces extradition proceedings.

The NCA launched its investigation earlier this year as part of Operation Venetic – the UK law enforcement response to the takedown of encrypted global communications service EncroChat.

In April, under Operation Venetic, officers seized an AK47 assault rifle hidden in a commercial building in Warrington.

That month officers also seized an Uzi and Skorpion sub machine guns, 300 rounds of ammo, £180,000 cash and a kilogram of cocaine from a location in London.

In June, officers seized a second AK47 from an address in Manchester.

Neil Gardner, NCA operations manager, said: “The arrests by the NCA and Spanish National Police are the latest in a long line made since Operation Venetic was announced in July this year.

“As part of this investigation the NCA and our policing partners have removed some of the most deadly firearms that exist.

“We will continue to target offenders who bring firearms into our communities.”