“Seven people have appeared in court over the UK’s largest ever seizure of guns that were allegedly smuggled into Britain on board a motor cruiser from France,” independent.co.uk reports. “Officers seized Czech-made assault rifles and Skorpion machine pistols stowed in bags along with silencers and 1,000 live rounds of ammunition during the operation on the River Medway, in Halling, Kent.” I’ve deleted the number to increase the dramatic tension and, yes, OK, force curious readers to make the jump (gotta pay the bills). And the answer is . . .
Twenty-two!
The operation to track the vessel from Franc involved the NCA, the Border Force and the National Maritime Information Centre (NMIC), the NCA said in a statement after the seven were charged with criminal offences.
Graham Gardner, deputy director of the NCA, said: “This was an extremely significant seizure, the largest of its kind in the UK. I’ve no doubt that these weapons would have ended up in criminal hands and it goes without saying the risk they would have posed to the public.
“We are still in the early stages of a significant investigation which will continue for some time. Through the excellent work and action taken alongside Kent Police we have made a huge step in protecting the public in Kent and further afield.”
While the antis could point to this piddling pistol intervention as a sign of just how well UK and European gun laws are working, you and I know better. Criminals get guns. Period. One of the major ways the UK keeps firearms-related crime down: they lock up the bad guys for a long time. There’s a lesson for anyone interested in reducing the gang-banging gun crime that accounts for the majority of America’s firearms-related homicides.