A man was given a 16-week prison sentence, suspended for one year, after trying to import two imitation guns into the country.

Maksim Chomusiak, of Fleetwood Close, Beckton, pleaded guilty after Border Force officers found replicas of a Glock automatic pistol and Mac 11 sub-machine gun by the Channel Tunnel terminal, in Coquelles, in August 2012.

The 42-year-old, who was charged with two counts of attempting to import a realistic imitation firearm, received the sentence on Tuesday, December 10, at Canterbury Crown Court.

The guns were in packages being sent to the Lithuanian national, which forensic examinations revealed to be air weapons capable of firing pellets.

Malcolm Bragg, from the National Crime Agency’s Border Policing Command, said: “While these were imitation firearms, they were extremely realistic and could easily have been used for criminal purposes.

“Looking down the barrel you would not know the difference between these and the real thing, which is why the controls on bringing them into the UK are so tight.”