A court has sentenced four men to a combined total of more than 43 years in jail for firearms and drugs offences after police witnessed a gun exchange.
Barking resident Arnas Laugalis, 28, met with Jonathan Gomez, 33, in Borehamwood on August 26, 2016, and handed him a black plastic bag containing a gun, ammunition and a silencer.
Laugalis had been seen by Metropolitan Police officers earlier that day entering a car driven by Ameer Al-Sekafi in Hanger Lane, with 25-year-old Matthew Noori, and leaving a few minutes later carrying the black plastic bag.
Laugalis and Gomez were arrested leaving the scene and the former was found to be in possession of quantities of cocaine and ecstasy.
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Gomez was found guilty of conspiracy to possess a firearm with intent to endanger life and was sentenced to 12 years in prison, while Laugalis pleaded guilty to the same charge and a charge of possession with intent to supply of Class A drugs and was given a five-year sentence.
A few months after the gun exchange, officers carried out a firearms raid at a property in Perivale on October 26, 2016, and found a large package containing a handgun, silencer and ammunition.
While officers conducted the search, Noori, of Chippenham Road in Westbourne Grove, arrived at the address and spoke to a police officer but refused to give his name.
His DNA was later found on the gun and phone records revealed his connection with the occupants of the property and he was arrested on December 7, 2016.
He pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to possess a firearm with intent to endanger life and was sentenced to 13-and-a-half years imprisonment.
During the investigation police also found the DNA of 25-year-old Kew resident Ameer Al-Sekafi on the firearm seized from the property and a raid at his Melliss Avenue address found quantities of cocaine and cannabis, as well as £10,500 in cash.
Al-Sekafi pleaded guilty to the firearm charge as well as possession with intent to supply of cocaine and cannabis.
He also admitted possession of criminal property over the £10,500 found at his address, and he was sentenced to 12 years and nine months in prison.
The sentences were handed out at Harrow Crown Court on Wednesday (January 17).
Detective Inspector James Hale, of the Trident and Area Crime Command, said: "The arrests and convictions of these four men are the result of a thorough investigation into two incidents where firearms were seized.
"These men posed a significant threat to the public and thanks to the hard work of my team they will be off our streets for many years to come.
"Gun crime of any kind will not be tolerated and the Trident and Area Crime command are working tirelessly to recover firearms, with 390 being recovered in 2017 alone."
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