Machine guns retrieved after man stopped near Chiswick Park station
Police detaining David Longhor after he was found with two machine guns
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The Metropolitan Police have released video footage of an arrest made by armed officers in Chiswick.
It shows the moments when a man was stopped near Chiswick Park tube station in the early hours of Tuesday 2 March. Police are shown in an unmarked vehicle approaching the scene then surrounding the man and retrieving two machine guns from his backpack.
The man arrested was 19-year-old David Longhor of Villiers Road in Southall who claimed that he was transporting the two Skorpion machine guns and 40 rounds of ammunition to pay off a debt.
A few days after this arrest the Met launched a new operation, codenamed “Elie” to clamp down quickly on the availability of illegal guns and the criminals that use them.
Operation Elie brings together different teams from across the Met to focus on gun crime in high risk areas of London. The operation is led by officers from the Viper teams, and is supported by armed officers and officers from the Territorial Support Group (TSG).
The aim is to stop criminals having access to illegal firearms and prevent any increase in shootings, similar to that seen in London last summer as the first lockdown eased.
Launched only eight weeks ago, officers acting on intelligence received have already seized 40 firearms across the capital in addition to the two retrieved in Chiswick.
A Scorpion machine gun seized by Met officers
Commander Dave McLaren, who leads the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, said, “When the restrictions were lifted last July sadly we saw the highest volume of lethal barrelled discharges since 2018. As we move out of the latest restrictions we have been working hard across London to prevent a similar spike in gun crime to that seen last year.
“The Met has thousands of dedicated and really passionate officers whose commitment to taking guns off our streets is unwavering. It’s thanks to their work that London continues to be one of the safest global cities in the world. Operation Elie is adding to that capability. Never before has this organisation worked harder to tackle gun crime and yielded some great results. Over the last four years we have seen the number of shootings reduce, the number of firearms recovered increase and the number of individuals arrested and charged increase year on year.”
Chiswick Park Station. Picture: Google Streetview
Commander McLaren, added, “Our proactive attitude and unrelenting pursuit of lethal weapons coming into London means we have made significant headway in tackling gun crime and for nearly six months there were no fatal shootings in London [since 2 November 2020].
“Sadly, we’ve seen the murderous impact of guns return to our streets in recent weeks but this has only redoubled our determination to stamp down on gun crime. We created Operation Elie to bring the lessons from last year together with skills and expertise from across the Met and really bear down hard on those using guns in London.”
In 2019, a total of 366 firearms capable of a lethal discharge were seized. In 2020 that increased to 443. An increase of 74 firearms. This year (to 28 April 2021), the police have seized 121 firearms capable of lethal discharge – which includes three Skorpion machine guns.
David Longhor
Appearing at Isleworth Crown Court on Thursday 22 April, Longhor pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of a prohibited weapon with intent to endanger life and one count of ammunition with intent to endanger life.
He is due to be sentenced on Friday, 4 June.
Detective Chief Superintendent Craig Turner said, “The machine guns and ammunition seized could have undoubtedly led to the loss of life had they not been recovered in this operation. Tackling violent crime remains our absolute priority and operations like this are crucial in removing lethal weapons from the streets and restricting the ability of those intent on causing violence. This is one of our main focuses as we approach coming out of lockdown and we will be relentless in our activity.
“Anyone who believes they can walk the streets of London with horrific weapons in their possession should think again. We will continue to make London a hostile place for gangs to operate in and carry firearms.”
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May 6, 2021
