Gang members jailed after weapons found in car in Barking

Tshoma (above left) and Rashid have each been sentenced to 13 years’ imprisonment.

Two gang members have been jailed after being found with a haul of weapons in Barking.

Police were watching Hafedh Rashid, 22, of Paragon Close, Canning Town, and Kevin Tshoma, 27, behaving suspiciously around a Volkswagen Golf outside Britannia Court in May 2018.

The pair were with a 16-year-old boy who was keeping a look out.

Tshoma was then seen coming out of a property with a baseball bat and the three of them got into an Audi and drove off.

The trio were known to be members of a Beckton gang, arming themselves with weapons and creating threatening videos to taunt rival groups.

Having watched them drive off, officers from the Met’s Trident and Area Command then gained entry to the VW Golf and found a Spider-Man bag containing a loaded shotgun, a revolver, and ammunition.

The loaded shotgun was found in the Golf.

They then discovered a machete, which they forensically linked to the 16-year-old.

The machete was forensically linked to the 16-year-old boy.

The trio were stopped in the Audi on the A13 a short while later.

Upon searching the Audi, officers found numerous mobile phones, a pair of disposable gloves with gunshot residue on them, two walkie-talkies, a baseball bat and a balaclava.

The three of them were charged the following day with two counts of possession of an offensive weapon, possession of ammunition, possession of a loaded revolver with intent to endanger life, and possession of a loaded shotgun with intent to endanger life.

The Spider-Man bag, in which the weapons were found.

They were all found guilty following a five-week trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court.

Tshoma and Rashid were both sentenced yesterday to 13 years’ imprisonment.

The boy will be sentenced at a later date.

Detective Constable Jim Emery said: “These men played an integral part in inciting violence and raising tensions between numerous gangs operating in east London.

“Our investigation revealed the defendants featuring in a number of threatening videos and were clearly in possession of a large amount of weapons and ammunition.

“Tackling this type of gang violence in Beckton has been a priority for our team over the past year and the community will certainly be a safer place with these dangerous individuals behind bars.

“I hope today’s sentencing acts as a stark reminder to those involved in this type of criminality and highlights our commitment to tackling gang culture and its associated violence in London.”