A man who fled police after he was stopped in a taxi with a firearm and ammunition has been jailed.
Walid Adam, from Notting Hill, was sentenced to six years imprisonment at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Tuesday (April 18) after previously admitting to a string of offences.
Adam, 28, was sitting in a mini-cab in Romford Road, Newham, when it was flagged down by traffic officers conducting a taxi enforcement operation.
The officer noticed a strong smell of cannabis coming from the vehicle, and asked the passenger, from Aldridge Road Villas, if he was in possession of the Class B drug.
Adam confirmed he was and was instructed to step out of the vehicle, but when he did so he ran off to an adjacent housing estate.
He was pursued on foot by a number of officers and seen discarding an object with his right hand before tripping and falling to the ground., the Met Police said.
While was then detained and arrested, officers searched the area and found the discarded object to be a black handgun which contained a magazine with seven rounds of ammunition.
Following tests on the weapon it was found to be a converted Baikal Russian handgun.
Adam was charged on February 18, and on March 21 pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm, possession of ammunition and possession of a Class B drug cannabis at the same crown court.
PC Richard Roberts, the investigating officer from the Met’s Trident Area Crime Command, said: “The recovery of this weapon has no doubt prevented its use on London’s streets.
“I am pleased that Adam has received a custodial sentence.
"You only have to read some of the tragic cases where firearms have been used to know how much of an impact they have on families and on communities as a whole.
“Trident officers remain committed to ridding the streets of London of these dangerous weapons.
"Those who are involved in the distribution and carrying of these weapons should be aware that we are actively carrying out operations to catch offenders.”
Police revealed earlier this month that the number of gun crimes rose in 2016/17.
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