Naveed Rehman, resident of Richmond Street, Plaistow, and Layth Ahmed, resident of Churchill Gardens, Pimlico, were both found guilty today of possession of a shotgun without a certificate at Snaresbrook Crown Court.

Police officers at New Plaistow Road, Stratford, on April 26 last year were drawn to a black Audi, which was displaying incorrect number plates. They pulled up alongside it and one of them spoke with the front seat passenger, telling the driver to pull over.

Instead, the car completed a U-turn and drove off, using the pavement to get away.

A short while later, a member of the public spotted a black car driving recklessly in Hotham Street, Stratford.

He saw the car pull up in front of him and the front seat passenger get out, open the boot and remove a shotgun before throwing it into a grassy area along the side of the street.

He then got back in the car, and drove off which was later found abandoned in Dell Close, Stratford. The witness called the police, who attended and found the shotgun and the Audi.

Enquiries linked Ahmed to the car and evidence showed he was the driver. He was arrested three days later.

The shotgun was sent for forensic testing and DNA matching Rehman was found on the barrel and the trigger. He was arrested on October 20.

The gun was found to have been stolen during a burglary in Cambridge in March 2016.

DC Jane Lotriet, the investigating officer from the Met’s Trident Area Crime Command, said: “The recovery of this weapon has no doubt prevented its use on London’s streets.

“Anyone found to be involved in the storing or use of lethal firearms will face a significant custodial sentence, which Rehman and Ahmed have found out today.”

Original News Source : Newham Recorder