A 29-YEAR-OLD man from Belvedere has been jailed for six and a half years after being found in possession of a gun.

Abdirahman Dirir of Upper Park Road was sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court on October 13.

He had admitted possessing a prohibited weapon and ammunition at a previous hearing.

The court heard on May 5, Dirir drove two men, Vitor Tavares, 27, of Woolwich, and Nilton Abdullah, 29, of Highbury, in his Audi to meet with Ahmed Mudhir in Wennington Road, Rainham.

Mudhir got into the back of the Audi with a bag and the three people in the car appeared to inspect it.

The 27-year-old of Rainham then got out of the car empty handed and returned to his Mercedes.

Dirir then drove off and dropped Tavares and Abdullah at a minicab office where they got into a taxi.

Abdullah was carrying the carrier bag.

Shortly after, armed police stopped the taxi and Dirir, still driving his Audi.

When they searched the bag, officers found an Ekol Jackal Dual semi-automatic pistol, a silencer to fit the gun and 20 bullets.

All three suspects were arrested - the gun was examined and found to be a prohibited weapon.

The ammunition was live and found to fit the weapon, as was the silencer.

All three were charged with possession of the items.

Two days later, detectives arrested Mudhir as he attempted to drive away from his home in Rainham.

Officers searched his home and found two Ekol Jackal Dual semi-automatic pistols, two silencers and two boxes of ammunition.

They were identical in appearance to those seized on May 5.

In court, Tavares and Abdullah were jailed for six years each after admitting possessing a prohibited weapon and ammunition.

Mudhir was jailed for 9 years after admitting possessing and supplying prohibited weapons and ammunition.