MEMBERS of a gang which stole a haul of guns and sold them into the criminal underworld have been jailed for a total of 33 years.

One of the stolen guns was sold on and used in an East London shoot-out, it has been revealed.

Most of the 77 stolen guns were recovered, but one rifle and 12 shotguns are still out on the streets.

One of the recovered guns was fired at youths in Walthamstow in a gang-related incident on November 9.

The Metropolitan Police recovered the double-barrelled shotgun, which had had its barrels sawn off, and via its serial number, traced it to the stolen haul.

A second gun was found in three parts by the railway line in South Woodham Ferrers.

Passing sentence, Judge Lodge said: “The pallet of guns was anonymised by nothing more than some black clingfilm wrapping.

“It’s astonishing this could have taken place. There may have been an initial period of shock at the haul which fortune had placed in the gang’s lap, but that shock soon disappeared and was transferred into enterprise.”

Det Chief Insp Stuart Smith, of Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, echoed the judge’s concerns that the haulage industry should tighten its practices for transporting guns.

Mr Smith said: “In their own words, these thieves were lucky to find these guns, but clearly the consequences of their actions have led to at least one shooting.

“Thankfully, the injuries were minimal.

“There are still a number of these stolen firearms in circulation.

They are bound to land in the hands of criminals.

“These defendants are now behind bars, but I have to agree with the judge transporting firearms in such a way seems incredible.

“I hope the industry will be reviewing that position.”

Crime led to car chase and cannabis seizures

CANNABIS worth more than £50,000 was found when police raided two Southend homes in the hunt for the guns.

Phone calls and text messages led police to 4 Beresford Road, Southend, and 117 Electric Avenue, Westcliff.

Dawn raids were launched on May 13, leading to a dramatic chase across Southend.

When police raided the Beresford Road house to arrest Jason Balding and Kenneth Slade, they found Slade had about 70 cannabis plants growing, with an estimated street value of £31,500.

In Electric Avenue, they noticed Mark Box, Adam Balding and a man called Adam Dye outside the house.

Balding tore off on a motorcycle, while Dye was loading plants into a vehicle.

Box was seen putting two long objects into his van, which police thought could be guns.

A police chase ensued through the streets of Southend, with a mother dragging her baby out of the way of the pursuing police cars at one point. Along the way, the van collided with numerous parked cars, and caused a police car to hit a lamp post in Blenheim Chase, Leigh.

  • Dye also appeared in court yesterday and was jailed for a total of three years, after admitting being behind a £22,500 cannabis growing operation in Electric Avenue, and being in breach of a suspended sentence.