Man charged after police seize gun and cocaine worth £1.2m in Ilford

A revolver and ammunition seized during yesterday’s operation (credit: NCA)

An Albanian man who lives in Ilford has been charged with drugs, firearms and money laundering offences.

Muhamet Qosja, of Valentines Road, was arrested yesterday after officers from the Met Police and the National Crime Agency stopped a vehicle in Melbourne Road, Ilford.

A search of a property in Valentines Road led to the discovery of a revolver, 20 rounds of ammunition and 12 kilos of cocaine, hidden in a bedroom. Once cut to street-level purity, the drugs would have had an estimated resale value of £1.2million, the NCA said.

The Met and the NCA have worked together for around 15 years and formed a unit called the Organised Crime Partnership (OCP).

Some of the drugs which the seized by the OPC credit: NCA)

The OCP’s Operations Manager Matt McMillan said: “Drugs, cash and violence all go hand-in-hand with organised crime. The Organised Crime Partnership is acting swiftly to
arrest criminals and break the link between all the three factors.

“The OCP sees NCA and Metropolitan Police Service work together to stop the flow of firearms and drugs to the criminal market in London, target criminals that impact on London, as well as disrupting those that make huge profits from this illegal activity.”

Qosja, 29, is due to appear at Barkingside Magistrates tomorrow.

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