Essex gun gang members jailed for converting and supplying firearms

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 23 Oct, 14:33 · Archive

Six members of a firearms gang have been jailed for converting blank-firing guns into working weapons and supplying them across London.

Six members of a firearms gang based in South Essex have been jailed for converting blank-firing guns into working weapons and supplying them across London. The final sentencing on 22 October completed the prosecution of the network, which operated from a caravan workshop at Buckles Lane, South Ockendon.

The ringleader, Thomas McKenna, 60, was sentenced in February to 16 years after admitting firearms offences, making explosives and possessing terrorist material. His partner, Tina Smith, 55, received six years for similar offences. A police warrant uncovered a lathe, drill and tools used for conversions, alongside ammunition, improvised explosive devices and extremist material. Officers recovered 14 converted firearms before they reached the streets.

The final six members sentenced included brothers Robert Dorey, eight years, and Ricky Dorey, ten years, both of South Ockendon, who distributed the converted weapons. Faisal Razzaq, 44, of Harrow, a key distributor, was jailed for life with a minimum term of eight years; he had previously served time for the manslaughter of PC Sharon Beshenivsky in 2005. Three others—Abdul Rahman Saleh, Patrick Loughnane and Tammy Rigg—received between five years three months and eight years six months.

How it is being reported

• Gang who made guns in Essex caravan jailed for nearly 50 yearsFive members of the crime network lived in Essex, using a caravan as a workshop to convert the weaponsEssexLive · 23 Oct, 14:00
• Final members of gun gang led from south Essex caravan site are jailedSouth Essex gun gang dismantled as six members are jailed on October 22 for converting blank-firing guns and supplying firearms across London.Echo (Basildon) · 22 Oct, 16:59

In this story: Thomas McKenna · Tina Smith · Faisal Razzaq · Robert Dorey · Ricky Dorey · South Ockendon · London

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