A group of armed robbers who wielded a machine gun to rob drug dealers in Hayes have been jailed for a total of 33 years.

The two men and one woman were arrested on April 19 after they stole cannabis from a property in Botwell Lane, Hayes.

Aseebullah Noori, 24, Hamza Jama,20, and 49-year-old Naureen Rashid were all jailed at Isleworth Crown Court on Tuesday (June 21) .

Detective Inspector Tim Grinsted, who spearheaded the operation which led to the arrests, said: “Three guns, including a machine gun, have been removed from the streets of London along with five people prepared to put their financial gain over the safety of our communities.

“This case demonstrates the Met Police and Trident's relentless efforts to deal with armed criminality and should serve as a warning to others considering similar criminal ventures.”

The female get-away driver Rashid, of Fletcher Road, Acton , had waited in the car with the engine running while Jama and Noori ran into the property.

Moments later the two men fled the house carrying a number of bags and the thugs drove off.

Arrests followed after an operation led by the Trident and Area Crime Command , who carried out an armed stop of the car at around 6.15pm in Ruislip Road.

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A search of the vehicle found nine kilograms of cannabis, worth an estimated £58,000 street value, a MAC-10 machine gun, cable ties and duct tape.

Noori, of Cedar Grove, Ealing , evaded arrested but was tracked down in Holland earlier this year.

He was jailed for 11 years after previously admitting to possession of the machine gun with intent to endanger life.

Jama, of Greenlawn Lane in Brentford was sentenced to 16 years in prison for conspiracy to rob, conspiracy to possess cannabis with intent to supply and possession of the gun with intent to supply.

Rashid was jailed for six years for conspiracy to rob and possession of cannabis.

The Metropolitan Police were able to trace the MAC-10 after the arrests, and two days later observed a man, Yaqub Mohamed, delivering a shotgun to an adress in Gresham Road, Hounslow.

Mohamed and Sizwae Dube were both arrested, and a Berreta, amunition and a stun gun were recovered from the address.

Mohamed, 22, of Holdernesse Close in Isleworth, admitted transferring the shotgun and was jailed for five years.

While 23-year-old Dube, of no fixed address, was sentenced to 21 years in prison after he admitted possession of ammunition, the Berreta, the stun gun and a sawn-off shotgun.

He was also found guilty of possessing the MAC-10 with intent to endanger life.

Another man, 21-year-old Haiden Findlayson of Cedar Grove in Ealing was found not guilty of conspiracy to rob.