Met dismantles caravan-based gun conversion ring after ten months of supply to London streets

Met dismantles caravan-based gun conversion ring after ten months of supply to London streets.

A 60-year-old gunsmith operated from three caravans in South Ockendon, converting blank-firing weapons into lethal firearms.

Police recovered 14 guns before street use. They arrested ten network members, including neighbours and a niece storing weapons. Leader Thomas McKenna drew a 16-year sentence.

The gang flooded London with converted blanks. Intelligence flagged distributor Faisal Razzaq in May 2024. Razzaq had served 11 years for the 2005 manslaughter of PC Sharon Beshenivsky.

Officers stopped a gun-laden vehicle en route to Notting Hill Carnival. A November raid uncovered drills, lathes, explosives, and bomb-making manuals. Digital devices held extreme right-wing material plotting race war.

Counter Terrorism Policing joined after explosive finds. McKenna and partner Tina Smith faced terror charges for information collection. Eight others await sentencing.

Met claims victory. Seizures hit 676 firearms last year, up 75 percent from 2024. Discharges fell below half of seven-year-ago levels.

Post-McKenna arrest, converted blank involvement in shootings dropped sharply. This pins the gang as a key supplier.

Reality undercuts the narrative.

Such networks thrive in plain sight. McKenna’s setup involved neighbours Robert and Ricky Dorey, plus facilitator Patrick Loughnane. His niece Tammy Rigg held guns at home.

Razzaq, a convicted cop-killer, distributed freely post-prison. Abdul Rahman Saleh assisted nearby. Customers like Allan Crosby and Ryan Smith possessed prohibited weapons.

Firearms Act violations piled up: conversions, conspiracies to sell, prohibited possession. Explosives breaches dated to 1883 laws.

London’s gun problem persists despite “intensified” efforts. Blank conversions evade controls on live firearms. Gangs exploit gaps in sales and modifications.

Historical parallel: Beshenivsky’s killers drew lighter terms than today’s sentences. Razzaq’s recidivism exposes rehabilitation failure.

Met deployed 80 officers for raids, maintained three-day scenes. Covert tactics took months to yield warrants.

Repeat Offenders Evade Nets

Razzaq’s return to crime after 11 years signals systemic release flaws. No monitoring caught his gun role until carnival stop.

Prohibited persons like Crosby and Ryan Smith acquired arms unchecked. Prior convictions barred them legally.

This mirrors broader policing inertia. Urban thefts, stabbings, and shootings surge while one pipeline closes.

Terror Overlaps Unaddressed

Extreme right-wing downloads framed race war prep. Manuals detailed blank conversions and bombs.

Courts added terror sentences, yet focused on firearms core. No wider ideology probe mentioned.

Such fringes arm amid social fractures. Public risks compound from unchecked proliferation.

Claims of safer streets ring hollow. One gang down reveals how many operate.

Discharges halved over seven years, yet require “record” seizures yearly. Converted blanks persist as workarounds.

Institutions react after supply lines saturate. Prevention yields to cleanup.

Met’s success story spotlights decay. Networks embed in communities, recruit kin, weaponise ideology. Repeat killers rearm.

Ordinary Londoners face armed proliferation until raids hit headlines. Governance delivers episodic busts, not security.

This exposes power’s true workings: threats grow until disruption forces action, then officials tout metrics. Decline embeds as networks rebuild overnight.