Man charged after firearms seizure

A man has been charged with firearms offences after assault rifles, sawn-off shotguns, an Uzi and a Thompson machine gun were seized by an anti-gang squad in one of Scotland Yard's biggest gun hauls.

Thirty firearms and ammunition were seized in east London yesterday morning by the Waltham Forest Gangs Task Force following an intelligence operation.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said Dean Stokes, 50, a gardener, of Balmoral Road, Leyton, east London, would appear in custody at Thames Magistrates' Court tomorrow charged with one count of possession of a pump action rifle, contrary to Section 5 of the Firearms Act 1968, and one count of possession of ammunition without a certificate, contrary to Section 1 of the Firearms Act 1968.

Police said earlier that the size of the seizure was "exceptional".

In the past two years, shootings have reduced by 40% in London and the Met and officers from Trident, the gang crime command, have seized more than 320 firearms since April last year.