A Kentish Town man faces eight years behind bars after admitting importing guns, grenades and zombie knives to sell on to London criminals.
Darren Dixon, 32, of Highgate Road, was arrested in October 2019 when police and the National Crime Agency (NCA) raided his home to find 26 firearms - along with explosives, gunpowder, live ammunition and zombie knives.
A sawn-off shotgun was also found in the bedroom of his three-year-old daughter.
The NCA's firearms team identified Dixon after working with the Spanish Guardia Civil to target people buying lethal weapons on the internet.
Dixon had purchased six firearms from a website based in Spain and a further three from a Slovenian website in the month prior to his arrest, the NCA said.
He then sold on the weapons to other criminals.
NCA officials said when he was arrested, Dixon said: “It has become a bit of an addiction [sic] with these guns.”
During the raid they also found fake police IDs, a fake search warrant and police body armour, along with equipment Dixon used to reactivate decommissioned weapons.
In March 2020, Dixon pleaded guilty to 15 charges of importing and converting weapons. He was sentenced to eight years in prison at Southwark Crown Court on Friday, March 5.
Matthew Perfect from the NCA said: “Dixon was a significant importer and supplier of weapons who was found with an extremely dangerous haul in his home."
Mr Perfect added that these weapons were "used in acts of serious violence, often by criminals involved in drug supply, to coerce and intimidate".
The Met Police's Det Insp Richard Smith added: “Dixon was found in possession of an alarming amount of lethal weapons – with some of them even shockingly being hidden where his child slept.
“Firearms have absolutely no place in London and we are committed to robustly targeting both those who carry them and those who supply them.”
Dixon's arrest and prosecution formed part of the NCA's Project Vizardlike which specifically targeted people who were buying non-lethal weapons - which fired blanks - and converting them in the UK.
Since November 2018, at least 522 prohibited weapons and 3,500 rounds of ammunition have been seized in the UK and 83 people have been arrested.
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