Revealed: The deadliest weapons seized by police during clampdown on knives

It comes as it was revealed 11 people are injured in knife attacks every day
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Justin Davenport26 January 2017
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This is the terrifying array of weapons seized by police after just two days of a purge on knife crime in London.

Officers seized the knives in more than 200 ‘weapon sweeps’ in the seventh phase of the Operation Sceptre crackdown on knife crime across London.

More than 49 knives, six guns, 129 rounds of ammunition and 23 offensive weapons were recovered in the searches.

Among them were a zombie knife found in Newham, hunter knives with deadly serrated edges, a machete and other knives found in a park in Hounslow and ordinary kitchen knives.

Deadly: One of the weapons seized by police

Commander Jim Stokley, head of the Met’s Gangs and Organised Crime Command, said the weapons had been “put down” by gangs on estates and hidden so they could be picked up and used in attacks or clashes with rivals.

The seizures came as figures obtained by the Standard showed that 4,151 people were injured by knives in London in the 12 months to October last year, an average of 11 people being injured in knife attacks each day in London.

The figures obtained by a Freedom of Information request show 63 people were killed by knives over the same period. A total of 1,115 people suffered serious injuries.

The statistics came as police also revealed that intelligence showed that just a quarter of all knife crime in London is now linked to gangs.

Police believe tactics used by the Trident gang unit has driven down gang related knife crime but more young people with no links to crime are carrying knives in a mistaken view that they are protecting themselves.

The latest police figures show knife crime is rising by 14 per cent year on year.

Commander Stokely, whose command includes the Trident unit, told the Standard : “There was a strong link with gangs around knife crime but because of the strong tactics that Trident we have seen a reduction in gang related knife crime uses over the last 18 months to the point now where it is under a quarter of knife crime.”

He spoke as a teenager continued to be questioned by police in connection with the knife murder of 15-year-old Quamari Barnes outside the school he attended in Willesden.

Detectives do not believe the attack was gang-related.

Commander Stokely said tactics used by Trident were now being rolled out to all Met boroughs to tackle a wider issue of knife crime.

He said these would include weapon sweeps and test purchases on retail stores to check they were not selling knives to children.

Commander Stokely said: “We are doing everything we can do, all the men and women on the command, to reduce the threats that knives pose.

“The difficulty with knives is that they are so easy to get hold of and everyone, not just the police, has a role to play, whether it is friends, teachers or parents, everyone has a role to play.

“Statistically if you take a knife with you, you are more likely to be stabbed as is the person with you. We are just trying to hammer that message home.”

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