Criminal Conviction for Cell Phone Jammer

A Northampton, UK man who admitted selling and using illegal mobile phone jammers was given a 12 month conditional discharge and ordered to pay US$8,245 towards prosecution costs when he appeared before Northampton Magistrates on Tuesday 11 March. Seized apparatus was also forfeited.

Glenn Jeffery Darien, 40, of Broadway, Northampton pleaded guilty to two charges of supplying and using mobile phone jammers - illegal in the UK (and most other countries).

The prosecution by the Radiocommunications Agency followed an investigation by the Agency during which a mobile phone jamming devise was purchased from a retail store, K-9 Electronics managed by Mr Darien. Tests on the device proved that it was effective at inhibiting communications within its proximity and also capable of causing interference to adjacent radio bands allocated for other use, such as fire, police and ambulance.

Use of of a mobile jammer in the UK is an offence of deliberate interference under section 13 of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949. The Radiocommunications Agency, an Executive Agency of the Department of Trade and Industry, is responsible for managing civil use of the radio spectrum in the UK."

Posted to the site on 18th March 2003