UK Border police intercepted a sizeable shipment of illegal firearms and nearly half a ton of drugs at the Port of Dover in southern England. 20 firearms and ammunition were intercepted and two Polish men were arrested for smuggling when a shipment of paper was searched.

Lukazs Kru, 31 and Rafal Anyszek, 32, were stopped at the eastern freight docks at Dover harbour in the early hours of Friday, 7th September. Border Force officers searched the men’s truck and found 20 firearms, including pistols and submachine guns, as well as approximately one thousands rounds of ammunition. Police did not disclose the types of ammunition found. From the photographs shared by the UK’s National Crime Agency, the cache of weapons included a Walther P22, .22LR semi-auto pistol and an R9-Arms Corp USA machine pistol.

TFB has covered the R9 before, back in 2015, we reported on a large shipment of arms being intercepted by Dutch police including a number of R9-Arms Corp USA machine pistols. The R9-Arms appears to be a counterfeit pistol manufactured in Croatia.

The shipment of drugs was hidden in photocopier paper boxes with paper placed on top (National Crime Agency)

Along with the firearms and ammunition, Border Police discovered nearly half a ton of drugs hidden inside the truck’s legitimate cargo of photocopier paper. The stash included around 300kg or 660 lbs of methamphetamine, 50kg or 110 lbs of ketamine, 50kg or 110 lbs of cocaine and 10 kg or 20 lbs of heroin. The National Crime Agency estimated the shipment had a combined street value of around £7.5 million or $9.6 million.

Kathryn Philpott, a Senior Investigating Officer for the National Crime Agency, said in a statement that:

This is a substantial seizure of firearms and ammunition which would pose a significant risk to life once in the hands of criminals in the UK. Criminal gangs use handguns to bring fear and violence to our streets; we are committed doing all we can to prevent these items getting into the UK to help keep the public safe.

The pair were charged and are due to appear in court on Monday, 10th September.

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