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Essex gun gang who turned blank-firing weapons into real guns in a caravan are jailed for nearly 50 years

Essex gun gang who turned blank-firing weapons into real guns in a caravan are jailed for nearly 50 years

Police cracked the network after linking Faisal Razzaq, 44, freed from prison after the 2005 manslaughter of PC Sharon Beshenivsky, to a gun found in a car heading for Notting Hill Carnival in 2024. Detectives traced the weapon to ringleader Thomas McKenna, 60, of South Ockendon. A November 2024 raid turned up a lathe, homemade explosive devices and extremist literature. McKenna was jailed for 16 years.

McKenna's partner Tina Smith, 55, got six years after admitting explosives and terror offences.

Their neighbour Ricky Dorey, 43, admitted conspiring to sell prohibited firearms.

Officers seized more than 100 items, including ammunition, from the caravan workshop.

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