By James Simons-
British police are in a race to prevent Paris style gun attacks, it has been announced.
Police say terrorists have tried to get firearms to launch gun attacks on British streets in five extremist plots foiled in the last two years, police have revealed, as they admitted that 800 legally owned guns had gone missing.
In a joint appeal, the National Crime Agency and Scotland Yard’s counter-terrorism command are asking the public to report fears about criminals handling firearms or legal owners of guns who are not responsible owners.
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The heightened alert comes as British law enforcement, security and intelligence services are working overtime to prevent a similar terrorist gun attack in the UK to the one that struck Paris in November 2015
Uk police have expressed concerns there is an increase in guns on the streets of London and other urban areas like Manchester, Nottingham, and Birmingham.
Assistant commissioner Mark Rowley, who is in charge of counter-terrorism for the police told reporters: “We know that firearms can enter the criminal market through a variety of means, including thefts from legitimate holders or dealers. Law enforcement, together with security and intelligence services, are working tirelessly to locate these weapons, confront the terrorist threat and keep the public safe.”
Rowley stated that half of the gun arrests they have made this year involved jihadis wanting to get guns. Britain’s tight gun laws and being an island means availability of guns is relatively low.
FEAR OF BRITISH ATTACKS
The heightened fears come in the wake of police information that terrorists are looking to exploit their acquaintance with various criminals in communities they know. Police recently arrested a west London gang with guns who were plotting the worst terrorist attacks in Britain for a decade.
British police are asking the british public to be vigilant and not to protect reckless gun owners who may be willing to sell guns indiscriminately.British police are in a desperate race to prevent what they believe is a plan to replicate the Paris style gun attacks that put France in a national state of mourning.
In March, police arrested gang leader Tarik Hassane 22, and his friend Suhaib Majeed, 22,both of whom were convicted of Two other men, Nyall Hamlett and Nathan Cuffy, were convicted of firearms offences for sourcing and supplying the weapon. Hassan is suspected of associating with Mohammed Emwazi, the West London terrorist who gained worldwide notoriety as Isis’s “Jihadi John”.
The Met recorded 202 firearms discharges in London, compared with 87 in the same months last year. These higher numbers raise fears that there may be more guns on the streets of london undetected, which could fall into the hands of criminals planning a Paris style attack.
Weapons are believed to be coming from eastern Europe by a variety of methods, and national and regional law enforcement officers believe there are increasing numbers of guns on Britain’s streets.
“Suppressing the availability of illegal firearms in the UK has never been a more significant priority for the law enforcement community. Criminal networks, who think nothing about who they sell firearms to, present a significant route by which extremist groups will try to access the sort of weapons used in recent attacks in Europe.”