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Drug Dealer Jailed for 16 Years After Cache of Sub-machine Guns, £143,000 Cash and Cocaine Found
A 25-year-old man, Terence O’Connor of Webb Street, Bolton, has been sentenced to 16 years and 3 months in prison following convictions linked to a serious firearms and drug trafficking operation.
The Offences and Arrest
O’Connor came under police surveillance by the Metropolitan Police’s Proactive Money Laundering Team after he was observed handing over a large sum of cash to a man who was already being monitored.
On 30 April 2020, officers watched O’Connor sitting in a parked car in Silverston Way, Edgware. When he began moving items in the vehicle’s boot, detectives moved in. A search revealed a large quantity of cocaine in a black rucksack by his feet. O’Connor denied ownership.
Further searches followed: his home address on Amias Drive, Edgware, was also raided. There, police uncovered £143,080 in cash, a money counting machine, and additional quantities of cocaine.
Firearms Discovered
Hidden behind a false wall panel in the Edgware flat was a holdall containing multiple illegal weapons:
• A fully functioning 9mm Uzi sub-machine gun
• A Czech-made .32 auto Skorpion sub-machine gun
• A silencer compatible with the firearms, plus magazines and a total of 332 rounds of ammunition including .38 calibre rounds.
Legal Proceedings & Sentence
O’Connor pleaded guilty to a number of serious charges, including:
• Two counts of possessing a Class A drug (cocaine)
• Being concerned in the supply of cocaine
• Possession of criminal property
• Two counts of possession of an automatic weapon with intent to endanger life
• Possession of a silencer and ammunition
At Harrow Crown Court, he was sentenced to 16 years and 3 months in prison.
Wider Implications
Police emphasized that this case illustrates the close ties between drugs, firearms, and money laundering in organised crime. The discovery of such dangerous weapons — capable of causing serious harm or loss of life — hidden in a domestic setting underlines the threat posed when such arsenals fall into the wrong hands.
Detective Constable Kevin Davies described O’Connor’s involvement as both in large-scale drug trafficking and laundering of its proceeds.
Sentence in Context
• The value of the illegal drugs seized was approximately £36,000 in wholesale cocaine.
• The cash seized was approximately £143,080.
• The case also included possession of weapons with intent to endanger life, which is among the more serious offences under UK law with high potential prison sentences.
Key Takeaways
• Hidden weapons and illicit firearms remain a significant threat, especially when combined with drug trafficking.
• The use of false panels, holdalls, and domestic properties for storing weapons and drugs complicates detection, requiring high-intensity intelligence and surveillance work.
• The combination of drug supply, firearms offences, and large sums of cash leads to very long sentences in UK courts.
Attached is a news article regarding a man caught with a UZI and skorpion machine gun with a 140k cash and cocaine is jailed for 16 years
Article written and configured by Christopher Stanley
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