Man jailed after DNA found on gun heading to Bristol

A man has been jailed after his DNA was found on a gun which was headed for Bristol.

Leo Mckoy, aged 22 and from Tottenham in London, was sentenced on 9 May at Bristol Crown Court after being found guilty of possession of a firearm.

He had previously pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply cannabis, receiving an additional six months to run consecutively.

It comes following an investigation by the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit (SWROCU) into the supply of firearms for use by organised crime groups in Bristol.

The SWROCU investigation began in 2020, when a man from Bristol travelled from Easton to Tottenham to source a gun and ammunition.

These were seized after he left the London flat of Sarah Abdelmuttalab. This man later pleaded guilty and was sentenced in May 2020 to five years and three months in prison.

Abdelmuttalab was also arrested. A further gun, a 9mm self-loading pistol, together with ammunition and £3000 cash was seized from the flat - though no one has been convicted in relation to that weapon.

McKoy denied ever possessing the revolver seized from the Bristol man, however, forensic analysis found his DNA in six separate locations on the firearm.

A warrant was carried out at his Tottenham home in March 2020 where officers found £5,080 in cash, cannabis with a wholesale value of £4,375, several mobile phones, and a bulletproof vest.

McKoy forfeited the £5,080 at a confiscation hearing held at North Somerset Magistrates’ Court in August 2021 and was also ordered to pay £3,000 in costs.Sarah Abdelmuttalab, aged 33, of Fairview Road, Tottenham, pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis and being concerned in the supply of cannabis in January this year, and was sentenced alongside McKoy to three months, suspended for one year.

DCI Adam Smith, from the SWROCU, said: “In total, two firearms were taken off the streets as a result of this investigation, one of which we know was heading to Bristol.

“McKoy tried to deny involvement, but his DNA was all over the gun seized. The other items found at his home – bulletproof vest, large amounts of cash, drug dealing paraphernalia – all show the level of crime he was involved in.

“Most importantly, that gun never made it back to Bristol and McKoy is now behind bars, meaning our communities are safer as a result.”

Bristol Commander Supt Mark Runacres, from Avon and Somerset Police, said: “This was a crucially successful investigation by our colleagues in the SWROCU which has resulted in a firearm destined for Bristol being taken off the streets.

“We’re working hard every day to ensure illegal weapons like these don’t end up in the hands of organised crime groups, whose illicit activities only cause misery in the communities they operate in.”