Highbury man imprisoned for firearm possession

A man from Highbury is facing six years in jail for possession of firearms.

Nilton Abdullah, 28, of Tinniswood Close, had earlier pleaded guilty to three charges involving the possession of a firearm and ammunition and was sentenced along with three other men at Snaresbrook Crown Court last Thursday.

Abdullah was a passenger in an Audi car seen driving in convoy with a Mercedes before both vehicles stopped in a street in Rainham.

On May 5 the driver of the Mercedes was seen getting out of the vehicle empty handed and going to the Audi with a plastic carrier bag which appeared to contain a heavy item and handed it to the passengers in the back of the car who looked to be inspecting the item.

He then returned to the Mercedes and the Audi drove to a nearby minicab office, where the two passengers – including Abdullah, who was carrying the bag – got into a taxi.

Both the taxi and the Audi were stopped by armed police a short while later and the carrier bag was found to contain an Ekol Jackal Dual semi-automatic pistol, a silencer to fit the gun and 20 live bullets of 765 calibre.

All three suspects were arrested. The gun was examined and found to be a prohibited weapon; the ammunition was live and found to fit the weapon, as was the silencer. All three were subsequently charged with possession of the items.

The driver of the Mercedes was also arrested two days later and a search warrant executed at his home found two other guns, silencers and ammunition identical to those seized previously.

Detective Inspector Chris Jones of Trident said: “London’s communities are safer as a result of the sentences.”