A man from Beckton who hid guns in his girlfriends’ homes has been jailed today for 18 years.
A man from Beckton who hid guns in his girlfriends’ homes has been jailed today for 18 years.
Sunny Taiwo, 34, of Holt Road, Beckton was classified as a dangerous offender and sentenced at Inner London Crown Court after being found guilty of ten firearms offences.
One of his girlfriends Shereen Lawrence, 32, of Hillcrest Road, Walthamstow was found guilty of possessing an illegal firearm and jailed for five years.
Another girlfriend, Leanne Anderson, 27, of Glenarm Road, Hackney, had already been sentenced to five years imprisonment back in February after pleading guilty to possession of an illegal fire,arm and ammunition, and..
Trident officers found a Miroku 600 double-barrelled sawn off shotgun and 84 cartridges in a cupboard in Lawrence’s bedroom back in November 2012, with a photo of Taiwo on her bedside table.
In January last year, police found a 9mm Baikal self-loading pistol with silencer with seven rounds of 9mm ammunition hidden in the kitchen waste bin.
Then in the early hours of April 12 2013, officers from the Met’s Specialist Firearms Unit, together with Trident officers found Taiwo and a woman lying on a bed above a loaded 8mm Rohm RG9 self-loading pistol, at an address in Mitcham.
Both were arrested but the woman was released without charge and provided key evidence for prosecution, unaware of Taiwo’s criminality.
Det Insp Steve Meechan, East Proactive Team, Trident Gang Crime Command, said: “Taiwo wrongly believed that by using his female companions to store various firearms he could evade capture, however police were able to connect him to firearms at four addresses.
“By putting their trust in him, two women have received lengthy prison sentences.
“These sentences should act as a deterrent to those involved in gun crime, but also to the girlfriends and wives of men who are involved in the circulation of firearms.
Safer London’s Empower programe aims to support women who are in danger of exploitation and coercion to commit criminal offences such as carrying weapons or drugs.
For more information visit saferlondonfoundation.org/project.php.
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