Teen Jailed For Storing Gang's Gun

A teenage student arrested during a police raid for storing a handgun and hundreds of bullets for a North London gang has been jailed for five years.

Forensics student Mary Boateng, 19, of Northumberland Park, Tottenham hid the Derringer-type pistol (pictured) in a rucksack and 300 bullets – 149 of which matched the firearm – in a bag in her kitchen.

Police from the Serious and Organised Crime Command executed a search warrant after an intelligence-led operation.

Before the search she confessed to detectives knew there was "something bad" in the rucksack.

The live ammo included magnum bullets and .22 short, .22 rifle, .32, .38 and 9mm caliber rounds.

DNA-testing by the Forensic Science Service matched a hair found caught in a knot of the plastic bag containing the ammunition with Boateng.

Boateng pleaded guilty at Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court to possession of a prohibited firearm, prohibited ammunition – three ‘dumb dumb’ bullets - and a further charge of unlawful possession of the remaining bullets.

Detective Chief Inspector Peter Beyer, from the Central Task Force, said: “Whether or not Boateng knew the exact contents of the bag in her home, she, in her own words, knew it contained ‘something bad’.

“We have removed a gun and a large quantity of ammunition from the streets of London, which would no doubt have caused injury or death.

“The Met Police Service has said loud and clear that people who store guns for others will face time in jail.”