Huge gun haul heading for UK stopped at Channel Tunnel

Seventy-nine viable guns have been discovered in a vehicle which was about to enter Britain.

Border Force officers seized the weapons, along with ammunition, from the vehicle's trailer on the French side of the Channel Tunnel at Coquelles, near Calais.

The 4mm and 6mm handguns and bullets were hidden in specially adapted engine blocks.

Image:Two men have been charged in connection with the raid

Officers were acting on intelligence gathered over a number of days.

Two men, Janusz Michek, 59, and Denis Kolencukov, 23, have been charged in connection with the raid, which was part of a joint operation by the National Crime Agency (NCA) and detectives from Scotland Yard's organised crime unit.

Michek, a Polish national, was one of seven people in the vehicle and was held at the scene.

Image:The vehicle was stopped in France as it prepared to enter Britain

Kolencukov, originally from the Czech Republic but residing in Slough, was arrested as he arrived in Dover from Dunkirk.

The pair were charged with two firearms offences and remanded in custody after appearing at Uxbridge Magistrates Court.

No further action will be taken against six Polish nationals arrested in Coquelles - four women aged 58, 41, 17 and 15 and two men aged 26 and 22.

Image:Officers carried out the raid acting on intelligence gathered over a number of days

Graham Gardner, the NCA's deputy director of investigations, said: "Our recent threat assessment highlights that handguns are still commonly favoured by some criminal groups in the UK.

"They may not be the largest firearm, but they are easily concealable and lethal in the hands of anyone prepared to use them."

Detective Chief Superintendent Michael Gallagher, from the organised crime unit, said: "I have no doubt that a number of these weapons were destined for the streets of London, where they would have caused misery and unspeakable damage to the community."