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Police seize huge online guns haul
By Justin Davenport, Evening Standard, Crime Correspondent Last updated at 00:00am on 05.11.04A terrifying arsenal of weaponry has been seized by detectives investigating guns for sale on the internet.
In a massive clampdown, Scotland Yard raided the homes of 28 people who bought guns from foreign firms advertising weapons on the web.
The arms ranged from CS sprays and Tasers to imitation guns which can be easily converted to fire live ammunition, and even lethal "self-defence" pistols capable of firing rubber bullets.
In some homes police uncovered caches of deadly weaponry, including authentic rifles and a Sten machinegun, though it is not known if these were bought online.
Detectives from Scotland Yard's specialist crime unit targeted one particular French-based internet firm called Guns2u.com.
But they also monitored dozens of other sites, including auction website eBay. Undercover officers posed as gun enthusiasts to make purchases.
Among the weapons they recovered was a so-called SAPL "Self Defender", which fires rubber bullets and is classed as a firearm.
Others included Beretta, Walther PPK 9mm, Glock and Walther P38 replica handguns, which police said could be easily converted to fire live rounds.
Scotland Yard released details of the Operation Benbridge clampdown on internet weapons after a dawn raid on one online gun-buyer this morning.
So far, officers have recovered more than 100 weapons in raids across London this week.
These included 81 handguns, 10 rifles, three machineguns and seven shotguns.
