Gunmaker ‘preparing weapons for far-right race war’ jailed after his runner was busted heading to Notting Hill Carnival
A gunmaker who used TikTok to spread his hate-filled messages has been jailed.
He made the guns on a lathe at his caravan in South Ockenden, Essex.
Detectives and armed police raided the caravan site after a gun was recovered from a middleman Faisal Razzaq believed to be selling it to a criminal gang.
He was arrested en route to the Notting Hill Carnival with forensic evidence tracing the weapon to McKenna.
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McKenna admitted 11 counts including converting blank firing guns and making explosives using terrorist guides.
Police recovered six guns which he had converted from blank firers into deadly weapons.
He was sentenced to 22 years on Thursday.
Razzaq, 44, who sold the guns onto criminal groups, had been released from jail after he was found guilty of being the lookout in a robbery in which police officer Sharon Beshenivsky was killed in Bradford in 2005.
He was found guilty of manslaughter, robbery and gun offences and sentenced to 20 years.
He was released in 2017 but has admitted conspiracy to sell prohibited firearms and possession of a gun and ammunition and faces another jail term.
Dramatic footage released by police shows the raid on McKenna’s caravan with heavily armed police frogmarching him from the van.
A search team found an improvised explosive device (IED) he had built with gunpowder and various weapons including a deactivated AK-47 assault rifle he had converted to deadly live round weapon.
Some of the ammunition recovered was ‘hollow point’ – a bullet which mushrooms on impact causing maximum damage.
Officers found that McKenna had been sleeping next to IEDs and after examining his online footprint found he was planning for a ‘race war’ and had been following anti Muslim Far Right content on TikTok.
His caravan was littered with weapons including a gun disguised as a torch as well as manuals on how to make guns and explosives.
There was even a US Srmy manual among the cache.
Lead investigator chief superintendent James Tipple told Metro after the sentence: ‘Thomas McKenna is an extremely dangerous individual.
‘He was converting firearms and in his words “preparing for a race war”. He was manufacturing explosives at his caravans.
‘We recovered a number of firearms from him and his associates and he was involved in the ongoing sale of firearms to criminal groups in London.’
The detective said that although McKenna had not identified a specific target in his preparation for a ‘war on Muslims’ his arms cache indicated he intended to act on his far-right ideology.
He added: ‘In his words he was targeting Muslims and immigrants. He was in contact with individuals who shared his far-right ideologies.
‘He was in preparation (for a race war) and was stockpiling weapons and explosives at his address.’
‘He was sending weapons to organised crime groups. He ran his firearms sales as a business and would provide them for anyone who needed them.’
(Picture: Counter Terrorism Policing/Metropolitan Police/PA Wire)
Tina Smith, 55, admitted to possessing a prohibited firearm, making explosives and collection of terrorist information. She was sentenced to seven years.
Allan Crosby, 44, from Sidcup pleaded guilty to possessing an illegal weapon and was given ten years.
Meanwhile at previous hearings Robert Dorey, 44, from Tilbury and Patrick Loughnane, 59, from Hayes admitted conspiracy to sell prohibited firearms.
Abdul Saleh, 39, pleaded guilty to the same charge while Tammy Rigg, 39, from South Ockenden admitted possessing a firearm and ammunition without a certificate.
DCS Tipple said: ‘These are extremely dangerous individuals done with a violent history including Faisal Razzaq who was the getaway driver in the shooting of a police officer in Bradford in 2005.’
On Mckenna’s plans to wage war on Muslims through far right chats online he called on the public to be vigilant, adding: ‘If you see any content with this sort of ideology please report it to us. The public are a very important tool in gathering this intelligence.’