A drug user who was arrested after a routine stop and search exercise has been jailed for keeping an unlicensed firearm under his bed.
Adonis McQuitta, 33, was sentenced to four years in prison for possession of a shortened double-barrelled shotgun and cartridges at Inner London Crown Court on Monday, January 30.
The court heard two Lambeth police officers caught McQuitta smoking a spliff while on patrol in Coldharbour Lane, Brixton, during the afternoon of October 31 last year.
He was searched and despite denying having any cannabis on him, they found a small bag of herbal cannabis.
He was arrested for possession of class B drugs and taken to Brixton police station.
Police later searched his home and found a rucksack containing a sawn-off shotgun with shotgun shells under the bed.
McQuitta, of Claudia Jones Way, Brixton, later pleaded guilty to one count of possessing a firearm without a certificate.
Detective Inspector Sean Stewart of the Omega team said: “Thanks to the local policing team’s diligence to their duty what appeared to be an arrest for a low level crime has led to the recovery and destruction of a firearm.”
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