Hundreds of armed officers raided a travellers site in south-east London in one of Britain’s biggest ever suspected gun crime stings. The operation involved the country’s most highly trained police marksmen, including Scotland Yard’s elite Counter Terrorism Specialist Firearms Officers. Police used stun guns, known as flash-bang distraction devices, before swarming onto the site in Orpington at around 3am. A number of people suspected of supplying weapons to criminal gangs were arrested, while two people are being supported by specialists from the police’s Modern Slavery Team. Dozens of ‘lethal firearms’ and 17 dogs were also seized at the 22-pitch site, which officers will be searching for the next two days. Commander Kyle Gordon, who heads the Metropolitan Police’s firearm’s command, oversaw the raid from Scotland Yard’s Special Operations Centre in central London. He said the operation was sparked by an increase in the number of gun crime incidents across the capital. Local police spent months gathering evidence before the sting went ahead.
Sep 2020. Armed Police raid London Traveller Site
