Hundreds of guns have been seized by Metropolitan Police officers in their biggest ever haul after dawn raids in Britain and America as part of an international operation to disrupt the supply of weapons to UK criminals.

At 6am around 30 detectives attached to Operation Trident, which targets firearms crime in London's black communities, carried out searches at three addresses around Dartford in Kent.

US law enforcement agencies, including officers from Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, were carrying out a linked operation in the state of New Jersey, America.

At one residential address in Kent police said that they had discovered probably their biggest ever seizure of weapons, including pump-action shotguns, automatic and semi-automatic weapons.

Detective Superintendent Kevin Davis said "hundreds and hundreds" of guns were recovered, after 12 plain clothes police officers raided the three-bedroom semi-detached house. Another residential and business address were also searched but the bulk of the arms were found in the first house.

"This is the biggest firearms haul we have ever had," he said. "The premises raided were used to store hundreds and hundreds of weapons. I have never seen anything like it. Guns are mounted on every available wall space in the property and live ammunition was found lying on the floor.

"There are guns everywhere. It will take us at least three days to log it all and bag up the evidence."

A 55-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of supplying firearms from a residential address in Dartford. He was taken out of the house five hours after the raid began and led to a waiting police car under a blanket.

He was taken to a North London police station to be questioned about any links to a suspected international arms trafficking gang.

In the drive of the house, that has an American flag hanging from the first floor, is a red Camaro sports car with the personalised registration E6 GUN.

On the back seat are what appeared to be at least two shotgun cartridges.
The property is listed under the name of Michael Shepherd, a registered gun dealer, who runs a website advertising the guns he sells.

A neighbour, Doug Clutterbuck, 68, who lives in the quiet street opposite a primary school, said: "I know that he was a gun dealer you used to see him carrying guns down the road. I think he was going shooting. He was quite a nice bloke."

The suspect opened the door to police wearing a pair of boxer shorts while his wife was asleep upstairs.

The operation which culminated in today's raids - codenamed Mokpo - was launched 18 months ago, following a spate of shootings in north London involving rival gangs.

Detective Chief Superintendent Kevin Davis, from Operation Trident, said: "This operation has resulted in hundreds of guns being taken out of circulation and has potentially prevented a number of serious injuries or even deaths occurring on the streets of London. It is impossible to overestimate the misery and fear these weapons could have brought if they had got into the hands of criminals.

"Today’s seizure demonstrates Trident’s determination not only to target the gunmen but also tackle those who are responsible for supplying guns in the first place."

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