A man from Pimlico has been jailed for being in possession of a stolen shotgun.
Layth Ahmed was one of two people to be found guilty of the charge at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Friday March 31. The 25-year-old, and Naveed Rehman, from Plaistow, were each sentenced to 27 months in prison.
The pair were arrested following a high-speed chase with police in April last year.
DC Jane Lotriet, the investigating officer from the Met’s Trident Area Crime Command, said there was no doubt in her mind that the weapon would have been used on London’s streets if not found.
Ahmed, from Churchill Gardens, and Rehman were in a black Audi when they were spotted by officers in a marked police van with incorrect number plates while travelling along New Plaistow Road in Stratford, East London on April 28, 2016.
The officers pulled alongside the Audi and one of them spoke with the front seat passenger, whose window was wound down, and told him and the driver to pull over.
Instead, the Audi completed a U-turn and drove off at speed, going up onto the pavement kerb to get away. A short while later, a member of the public was in nearby Hotham Street when he saw a black car driving recklessly.
The car pulled up in front of him and he saw the front seat passenger, get out, open the boot and remove a shotgun.
The shotgun was sent for forensic testing and DNA matching Rehman was found on the barrel and trigger of the gun. He was arrested on October 20 2016 and charged the next day October 21.
