UK Border police in Coquelles, France, found 79 firearms hidden in a shipment of engine parts bound for the U.K., according to a July 1 report by the National Crime Agency.
NCA Deputy Director of Investigations Graham Gardner called it the single biggest seizure of its kind.
The seizure was the result of a joint investigation between the National Crime Agency and the Metropolitan Police Service, according to Deputy Director Gardner.
Seventy-nine pistols, .15 caliber and .22 caliber, along with ammunition, were hidden inside a shipment of engine blocks packed on a trailer pulled by a van. The drivers planned to cross under the English Channel via the Channel Tunnel.
Eight people were arrested. It turned out, upon investigation, that some of them were not involved. Two people have been charged so far, a 59-year-old Polish man and a 23-year-old Czech national.
Gardner said the guns were probably intended for criminal street gangs in London.
“We do seize handguns from criminals fairly regularly, but the significance of this is in its volume,” he said. “We’ve never before seen 79 handguns being attempted to be delivered into the U.K. So the fact that that, that crime has been frustrated is of real significance for the safety of our communities.”
Chris Jasurek for NTD
