Moment arms smuggler caught with 18 loaded guns and 230 rounds of ammunition wedged into BMW bumper

20 January 2025, 14:22 | Updated: 20 January 2025, 16:00

The moment police pounced on a weapons smuggler, who entered the UK with guns and ammunition wedged into his car bumper, has been caught on camera.

Officers pulled over the vehicle, driven by Karl Tugwell, 41, at the Port of Dover on March 17 as part of a joint Border Force and Metropolitan Police operation.

Upon inspection, the vehicle's bumper was found to contain 18 illegal, loaded firearms, in addition to over 230 rounds of ammunition.

Footage released by the Met reveals Tugwell entering the UK at the busiest international ferry port, with his modified silver BMW containing the haul of illegal weapons.

Border Force agents can be seen surrounding the vehicle, as they bring out a trolley of equipment ready for inspection.

Following his arrest, Tugwell pleaded guilty to being knowingly concerned in the fraudulent evasion of a prohibition on the importation of goods.

Footage shows Tugwell sitting beside the vehicle surrounded by Border Force agents. Moments later, the suspect is seen being led away by officers.

Appearing at Canterbury Crown Court on November 28, Tugwell was sentenced to 12 year in prison.

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The weapons are all said to have been fully operational and capable of causing what the Met described as "lethal harm".

It comes weeks after a gang which smuggled up to £7 billion worth of drugs from the continent over two-a-half years were jailed at Manchester Crown Court.

It is believed to be the largest drug smuggling operation ever detected in the UK.

Ringleader Paul Green, 59, known as The Big Fella, was the point of contact for numerous organised criminal groups (OCGs) who paid a fee to ship heroin, cocaine, amphetamines and cannabis into the UK.

Green and his fellow conspirators went to "extraordinary lengths" to disguise their involvement as they set up a series of front companies and warehouses in the Netherlands and the north of England by the use of false and stolen identities.