Four men have been jailed for firearms offences after officers found four handguns in a car, a Glock firearm in a kitchen and a Taser in a wardrobe.

Woolwich Crown Court heard police were carrying out surveillance of a business premises in Homerton, Hackney, when they saw Hasan Ekinci, 41, of King Edward Road, Hackney, put a brown paper bag in the boot of a car.

Armed police followed the car, which was being driven by Ahmet Budak, 35, of Balcorne Street, Hackney, all the way to Gale Street in Dagenham.

When it was stopped they found two brown paper bags in the boot containing four Sig Sauer P226 handguns and 40 rounds of 9mm ammunition.

Budak and Ekinci were arrested for firearm offences at the scene.

When officers went to Hale End Road, in Walthamstow - an address linked to Budak - they found a Glock firearm and 20 rounds of 9mm ammunition hidden in the kitchen.

They also searched an address linked to Ekinci in King Edward Road's Road in South Hackney, where they found a Taser in a bedroom wardrobe.

All of the handguns and ammunition have since been confirmed as viable and capable of causing lethal injuries following analysis by the Met's firearms lab.

Mobile phone call records revealed that Blaine Nurden, 28, of no fixed address, had arranged the firearms deal from prison, where he was already serving a sentence for previous firearms and drugs offences.

His brother, Haydn Nurden, 25, of Shafter Road, Dagenham, had sent a text message to customer Billy Flynn, 22, of Rowanwood Avenue, Bexley, on the day in question, asking him to bring the '5500 x 2' when he was ready.

Police suggested £5,500 would be a reasonable price for each gun, according to Scotland Yard.

Ekinci pleaded guilty to possession of firearms with intent to endanger life or cause another to do so on June 11, 2021, and will be sentenced at a later date.

The other four men were found guilty on January 13, following a trial at Woolwich Crown Court.

Budak was sentenced to seven years and nine months’ imprisonment for possession of firearms on Friday - January 28.

Flynn and Hayden Nurden were both sentenced to 11 years and three months’ imprisonment for possession of firearms with intent to endanger life, while Blaine Nurden was sentenced to 12 years and three months’ imprisonment for the same offence.

Det Insp Lewis Sanderson, from the Met's specialist crime team, said: "The criminal use of firearms has the most tragic consequences on our communities."