Four to appear at the Old Bailey after Cuxton Marina gun seizure including Harry Shilling from Swanley and Jennifer Arthy and John Smale from Halling
Published: 00:01, 24 February 2016
A woman and three men are due to appear at the Old Bailey after the largest land seizure of guns and ammunition ever made in the UK.
Officers discovered 22 automatic assault rifles and nine Skorpion machine pistols in an operation in Medway, on August 18, 2015.
They also found 1,000 live rounds of ammunition during the raid near Cuxton Marina, and seven people have been charged in connection with the discovery.
Jennifer Arthy, 41, and John Smale, 58, of Rochester Road, Halling; Harry Shilling, 22, of Hart Dyke Road, Swanley; and Michael Defraine, 29, of Franklin Road, Bexleyheath; have pleaded not guilty to importing firearms.
They have also pleaded not guilty to a second charge of conspiring to possess a firearm with intent to endanger life.
Shilling has also pleaded not guilty to possessing a prohibited weapon, namely a stun-gun.
David Payne, 42, of Rochester Road, Halling; Christopher Owen, 30, of Bush Road, Cuxton; and Richard Rye, 24, of Lime Road, Swanley, have already entered guilty pleas and will be sentenced at the end of the trial.
The trial was due to start on Wednesday but it is now thought to be opening on Monday.
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Clare Freeman