A soldier from a regiment responsible for Royal protection and ceremonial duties has been jailed for selling ammunition to an undercover policeman.
Lance Sergeant Rajon Graham, 34, served in the prestigious Ist Battalion of the Coldstream Guards.
He has since been dishonourably discharged after admitting four charges of selling materiel.
He was based at the Wellington Barracks near Buckingham Palace and had carried out state and ceremonial duties at the time of the offences.
Graham sold a total of 300 9mm bullets for £5,800 in cash.
The bullets were bought by a police officer posing as serious drug dealer.
Judge David Tomlinson, sentencing Graham, said:
“Your ability to obtain this ammunition must have been connected to your occupation.”
The judge praised married father-of-one Graham’s “exemplary” service “provided to this prodigious wing of our armed services” over eight years.
He added: “You believed that the person who paid you for this ammunition was an active criminal and someone you must or ought to have realised was part of an organised crime group.
“In fact, no harm was done because the individual you did this business with was an undercover police officer.”
Prosecutor Duncan Atkinson KC said:
“The defendant intended there to be a high risk of death or serious harm because he was selling 300 live bullets to an individual he believed was involved in the dealing of drugs and had criminal associates who needed live ammunition in the context of the drugs trade.”
Austin Stoton, defending, said Graham he had an “impeccable service record” but fell into “desolate times”.
He said he suffered depression following his return to the UK from a tour of Afghanistan in 2013.
Mr Stoton said: “This was the beginning of this rather sad tale.
“He realises that was a stupid, naive thing to do.”
