A man has been jailed for five years for providing a firearm to another man that was found alongside balaclavas, gloves and electrical tape.

Aaron Martin, 29 and of Swanley Lane, Swanley, pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey on Friday, April 7 to one charge of transferring a prohibited weapon.

Martin was charged after police searched a house in Swanley finding a van in which a Belgian Fabrique Nationale 9mm self-loading pistol, was found wrapped in cloth inside in a bag. 

Investigating officer, Detective Constable Alan Poulton of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate said: “Martin supplied this pistol and did not care about the danger this weapon posed to the public or the effect it may have had on someone else’s life.

News Shopper:

“I am pleased that we were able to remove this firearm from the streets of Kent.

“Kent Police will not tolerate crime in the county and officers will continue to work hard to crackdown on those who think they are above the law to ensure their actions do not go unpunished.”

Alongside the pistol was a bag containing balaclavas, gloves, electrical tape and ammunition.

The search led to the arrest of another man who in October 2015 pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm and ammunition.

He was sentenced to three and a half years in jail.

During the investigation officers found evidence linking this man to Martin and forensic examination found Martin’s fingerprints on the bag which the gun had been placed in.