Guns seized at Channel Tunnel ‘were meant for UK criminals’
AN ARSENAL of 79 handguns bound for gangs and violent criminals in Britain has been found hidden in car engine blocks being ferried by van through the Channel Tunnel.
Police seized the weapons cache after a tip-off that they were to be smuggled into the UK over the weekend.
One senior officer said there was “no doubt” the firearms and ammunition were headed to the streets of Britain, where they “would have caused misery and unspeakable damage”.
The haul of functioning 4mm and 6mm handguns was found in specially adapted compartments in engine blocks being pulled on a trailer by a yellow Mercedes van.
Janusz Michek, a 59-year-old Polish national, and Denis Kolencukov, a 23-year-old originally from the Czech Republic but living in the UK, both face firearms charges after the seizure.
Both have been charged with breaking restrictions on prohibited weapons and conspiracy to possess or supply firearms with intent to endanger life.
The weapons were seized in a joint operation by Scotland Yard and the National Crime Agency (NCA), Britain’s equivalent of the FBI.
An NCA source said investigations “over a number of days” suggested that a gang would try to smuggle the weapons into Britain over the weekend. The intelligence was shared with Border Force officers based at Coquelles in France, who stopped the van before it entered the tunnel on Saturday. Det Ch Supt Michael Gallagher, of the Met’s Organised Crime Partnership, said: “I have no doubt that a number of these weapons were destined for the streets of London, where they would have caused misery and unspeakable damage to the community.”
An NCA spokesman said: “Our officers believe these weapons were destined for criminals in London and across the country. Because of the number of guns, it’s inevitable that over time they would be associated with all types of violent crime.”