A gun smuggler has been jailed for 12 years after he was caught red-handed trying to smuggle 18 loaded firearms into the UK inside a car’s bumper.
Karl Tugwell, 41, arrived by ferry to the Port of Dover in Kent, where his vehicle was searched by the Metropolitan Police and Border Force.
Video released by the Met Police on X shows Mr Tugwell’s car being scoured by at least five officers, with two of them lying on the ground performing a thorough inspection of the silver BMWs bumper – where the weapons were ultimately found.
In total, officers discovered 18 loaded guns and approximately 230 rounds of ammunition wedged into the bumper.
The firearms appear to be wrapped in grey plastic bags sealed with florescent orange tape. There are also traces of padded foam around some of the weapons.
The footage then shows Mr Tugwell sitting in a chair inside the port, before he is approached by two officers who detain him.
Tugwell was charged with being knowingly concerned in the fraudulent evasion of a prohibition on the importation of goods, to which he plead, according to LBC.
He appeared at Canterbury Crown Court on November 28, 2024, where was sentenced to 12 -year jail time.
Gun smuggler Karl Tugwell’s silver BMW is seen arriving off the ferry into the Port of Dover in Kent
Officers from the Metropolitan Police and UK Border Force carried out a thorough inspection of the vehicle’s front bumper
The guns, wrapped in plastic and tape, can be seen stuffed into the car’s front bumper
The bumper contained 18 loaded guns, wrapped in grey bags, and approximately 230 rounds of ammunition
The weapons were fully functional and the Met Police said the seizure ‘prevented a potentially fatal threat to public safety.’
Only last month 20 firearms were seized by the National Crime Agency (NCA) from a suspected gun factory in Newbury, Berkshire.
Four Glock pistols, nine shotguns, six long-barrelled firearms and a deactivated Bren machine gun were recovered from a house in an NCA raid.
Along with a range of gun component parts, officers also recovered 11 imitation firearms, including an AK-47, an MP 40 submachine gun and nine revolvers.
Chris Hill, NCA Branch Commander, said of the December seizures: ‘This is a very significant haul. We’ve identified and prevented a large number of lethal weapons reaching the streets of the UK.
‘These weapons had the potential to cause devastation within our communities.
‘There is no place in the UK for illegal firearms which often end up in the possession of organised criminals who use them to enforce their operations.
‘Protecting the public from the threat of the criminal use of firearms remains a key priority and we work with partners at home and abroad to combat their importation into the UK.’
Mr Tugwell sits alone on the far right of the shot as he awaits his fate after bringing the illegal weapons into the country
Mr Tugwell is then apprehended by officers and detained on suspicion of being knowingly concerned in the fraudulent evasion of a prohibition on the importation of goods
