A suspected knife smuggler was arrested after Metropolitan Police officers used an electric circular saw to cut through the front door of a south London property during a dramatic dawn raid.
Body-worn video captured officers forcing their way into the address on Wandsworth Road, Lambeth, at 5.09am on Tuesday, August 25.
More than a dozen officers were involved in the operation, which followed intelligence suggesting illegal knives were being imported into the UK and were allegedly linked to the address.
Police searched the property and recovered a box containing 10 knives, including lock knives and flick knives.
Detectives allege the suspect is linked to the attempted importation of a significant quantity of knives from China, including zombie-style knives.
The weapons were intercepted by Border Force before they could reach the streets, with the investigation subsequently taken over by detectives from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command.
A man in his 20s was arrested on suspicion of importing prohibited weapons into the UK and remained in police custody while enquiries continued.
‘These knives have no place on London’s streets’
Detective Chief Inspector Kara Moulds, who led the operation, said: “These knives have no place on London’s streets. They are specifically designed to inflict serious harm, which is why our officers are relentlessly targeting those suspected of bringing them into our communities.
“Every knife we seize is one less weapon that can be used to threaten, injure or kill. By taking them off the streets and bringing offenders to justice, we’re making London safer for everyone.”
The raid forms part of the Metropolitan Police’s ongoing efforts to tackle knife crime and serious violence across the capital.
According to the Met, knife-enabled crime is down 5.9% in the financial year to date, while knife-enabled robbery has fallen by 13.7% over the same period.
Zombie-style knives and machetes were added to the list of prohibited weapons in England and Wales in September 2024.
In May, the Met said officers arrested 243 people and seized 159 knives during a two-week London-wide crackdown on knife crime.
The operation involved intelligence-led patrols, weapons sweeps and stop-and-search activity targeting people suspected of causing the greatest harm.
