A drug dealer has been jailed for 17 years after being caught with £20,000 of heroin and a handgun capable of firing eight rounds a second.
Mark Reid, 34, had his house raided by a Met Police gang squad – and was busted with almost a kilo of Class A drugs and the gun.
Armed police and Trident officers raided houses linked to Reid in north and north west London where they found drugs and ammunition.
At the first address, in North Finchley, cops unearthed 900 grams of heroin and a pistol, which were concealed inside a backpack.
The firearm, a 9mm Ekol Jackal Dual can be bought legally as an airgun – but Reid had it converted to shoot live rounds.
Police then searched an address in Harrow where they found Reid had stashed ‘specialist equipment’ used to create ammunition.
They also found a manual on how to create ammunition and a list of contacts and debts Reid kept related to drug dealing.
Detective Inspector Steve Meechan of the Met’s Trident Command, said officers found a rucksack containing the gun and a block of heroin with a street value of between £16,000 and £22,000 when they raided Reid’s home in North Finchley last August.
He said when they conducted a seocnd search at an address linked to Reid in Harrow they discovered several items of specialist equipment used to create ammunition and hundreds of empty ammunition cartridges hidden under kitchen units.
They also recovered an instruction manual detailing how to create ammunition and a list which appeared to indicate drug dealing over a number of weeks
Detective Inspector Meechan said: “This was a complex investigation.
“It was driven by a wealth of intelligence secured by Trident officers and targeted an organised criminal actively involved in the illegal supply of firearms and drugs.
“The weapon and drugs recovered in this case were destined for the streets of London. I have no doubt that removing them from circulation has prevented death or serious injury.
Detective Superintendent Neil Ballard, of the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, added: “The substantial custodial sentence handed down to this defendant should act as a significant deterrent to those considering involvement in any aspect of organised crime.”
By Daniel Hammond