Lorry driver who prepared for 'race war' jailed

"Thomas McKenna, 60, had set up a gun-conversion factory in a caravan on a travellers' site in South Ockenden, Essex. There, McKenna, who is originally from Glasgow, used a lathe and drills to convert pistols into live guns, painting them black, and sold them to organised crime groups in and around London. Police say he was a key supplier of firearms to criminals and, since his arrest, the number of shootings in London using converted firearms has fallen significantly."

"McKenna was also stockpiling guns, explosives and homemade grenades for what he said was a "race war" against Muslims that he believed was coming. One of the people who bought his guns was Faisal Razzaq, 44, who was in the getaway car used in the murder of PC Sharon Beshenivsky. Beshenivsky was shot at point blank range after interrupting an armed robbery at a travel agents in Bradford, in November 2005."

"McKenna's partner Tina Smith, was also jailed at Kingston Crown Court for six years with a further custodial sentence of 12 months. Two of the men he sold weapons to - Allan Crosby, 44, and Ryan Smith, 44, - were jailed for 10 years, and seven and a half years respectively. Judge Lodder KC said it was clear that McKenna was a "dangerous" individual, who had played a "vital and leading role in serious criminal enterprise"."

Thomas McKenna, a 60-year-old lorry driver from Glasgow, operated a gun-conversion workshop in a caravan on a travellers' site in South Ockenden, Essex. He used a lathe and drills to turn blank-firing pistols into live weapons, painted them black and supplied organised crime groups in and around London. Police identified him as a key firearms supplier; shootings in London involving converted weapons fell after his arrest. McKenna stockpiled guns, explosives and homemade grenades while claiming he anticipated a "race war" against Muslims. Police found two homemade explosive devices hidden in a jug at the caravan. McKenna received a minimum 16-year sentence.

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