Two men from Swanley and one from Bexleyheath are among seven people charged with firearms offences after raids in an Orpington McDonald's and at Cuxton Marina.
A haul of weapons including 22 automatic assault rifles, nine Skorpion machine pistols, 58 magazines, two silencers and around 1000 live rounds of ammunition was found stashed in suitcases and holdalls in a van leaving Cuxton Marina on Tuesday (August 11).
Picture: NCA
Eight people – seven men and a woman all aged between 24 and 58 – were detained by the National Crime Agency (NCA) Armed Operations Unit (AOU) and Kent Police Tactical Firearms Command.
Three men and a woman were arrested near Cuxton Marina and three men were detained at McDonald's in Sevenoaks Way, Orpington.
All seven were charged with importing and possessing firearms and are due to appear at Medway Magistrates Court today (August 14).
Picture: NCA
They include Harry David Shilling, 22, of Hart Dyke Road, Swanley, Richard Rye, 24, of Lime Road Swanley and Michael George Defraine, 29, of Franklin Road, Bexleyheath.
David Kenneth Payne, 37, Jennifer Katherine Arthy, 38, and John Stephen Smale, 58, all of Rochester Road, Rochester and Christopher John Owen, 29, of Bush Road, Cuxton have also been charged.
A 28-year-old man was arrested at an address in Swanley and has been released on bail until September 24.
The seizure of the weapons followed the arrival of the MV Albernina, a motor cruiser, which had travelled to the UK from France, at Cuxton Marina.
Picture: NCA
The operation to track the vessel involved the NCA working closely with Border Force and the National Maritime Information Centre (NMIC).
Deputy Director Graham Gardner from the NCA said: "This was an extremely significant seizure, the largest of its kind in the UK.
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"I’ve no doubt that these weapons would have ended up in criminal hands and it goes without saying the risk they would have posed to the public.
"We are still in the early stages of a significant investigation which will continue for some time. "Through the excellent work and action taken alongside Kent Police we have made a huge step in protecting the public in Kent and further afield."
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