A Tulse Hill teenager who kept a loaded submachine gun in a rucksack in his loft has been jailed for nine years.

Rhys Palma, 18, from Christchurch Road, was caught with the Mac-10 submachine gun, ammunition, and two fired cartridges during a raid on his home on May 8 last year.

Officers found the weapon as part of an operation to try and recover 90 blank-firing Mac-10s converted into live weapons in a mass gun factory.

Police test fire a Mac-10


Palma was sentenced at Inner London Crown Court on Friday after being found guilty of possessing a firearm and ammunition with intent to endanger life on January 26.

The court heard how the weapon was recovered from the loft after Palma appeared to have slammed the loft shut as officers burst in.

Detective Constable Dave Brooks, of Lambeth CID, said: "Weapons like this have no place on London's streets.”

He said he hoped the sentence sent the message of how seriously the police and the courts viewed the carrying or possession of dangerous firearms.

Some 129 guns were taken off Lambeth’s streets in 2008/9, according to Lambeth police.

Officers are still searching for other weapons similar to Palma’s that were made in the gun factory in Thames Valley by arms dealer Grant Wilkinson.

He was jailed for 11 years in 2008 for converting 90 guns which were then sold on to criminals and used in murders and other firearms incidents.

A reward of up to £10,000 is being offered by police for any information leading to the recovery of the outstanding Mac-10s or the arrest of those involved in offences using the weapons.

Anyone with information should call the Met on 020 8733 4704 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.