From todays Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/gun/Story/0,,1871320,00.html
“SE Londonistan” (I always think Dartford, Bexleyheath, Eltham etc are SE London rather than Kent) has always had a gun culture (it was starting when I was last there in 1990-1992) but what is changing now is how quick lads are to get and use a gun even over something trivial..
The pump-action shotguns and semi-automatic and automatic weapons were found at properties in Dartford, Kent. An arms-smuggling ring with links to the US was believed to have brought the guns into the country.
Officers from the Metropolitan police’s Operation Trident team, set up to target gun crime in London’s black communities, carried out the raids.
A statement from the Met said US police were carrying out simultaneous operations in New Jersey.
At 6am about 30 officers executed search warrants at two residential properties and one business address.
The cache was discovered at one of the residential addresses, which police believe was being used to sell firearms.
Searches were expected to continue throughout the day. The operation, codenamed Mokpo, was launched 18 months ago after a spate of shootings in north London involving rival gangs.
Detective Chief Superintendent Kevin Davis, from Operation Trident, said: “This operation has resulted in hundreds of guns being taken out of circulation and has potentially prevented a number of serious injuries or even deaths occurring on the streets of London.
“It is impossible to overestimate the misery and fear these weapons could have brought if they had got into the hands of criminals. Today’s seizure demonstrates Trident’s determination not only to target the gunmen but also tackle those who are responsible for supplying guns in the first place.”
