Police used an electric circular saw to cut through the front door of a suspected weapons smuggler’s London home in a dawn raid. An officer sliced down the middle of the door before it was forced open to allow a Met Police team to storm into the flat on Wandsworth Road, Lambeth, shortly after 5am on Tuesday August 25.
Dramatic footage of the raid
Body-worn video footage captured the moment the door was busted down. More than a dozen officers swarmed into the property to arrest the suspected knife smuggler. Scotland Yard executed the warrant after intelligence suggested illegal knives were being imported into the UK and allegedly linked to the address.
During a search of the property, officers recovered a box containing ten knives, including lock knives and flick knives.
Alleged importation from China
Detectives allege that the suspect is linked to the attempted importation of a significant number of knives from China, including zombie knives. They were reportedly intercepted by Border Force before they could reach the streets. The investigation was subsequently taken on by detectives from the Met's Specialist Crime Command.
A man in his twenties was arrested on suspicion of importing prohibited weapons into the UK. He remains in custody while enquiries continue.
Police response to knife crime
Detective Chief Inspector Kara Moulds, who led the Met's operation, said: “These knives have no place on London's streets. They are specifically designed to inflict serious harm, which is why our officers are relentlessly targeting those suspected of bringing them into our communities.”
DCI Moulds added: “Every knife we seize is one less weapon that can be used to threaten, injure or kill. “By taking them off the streets and bringing offenders to justice, we're making London safer for everyone.”
The latest raid is part of the Met’s ongoing efforts to tackle knife crime and violence across the capital. It comes just a day after a young man was stabbed to death at Brent council headquarters.
Scotland Yard said knife-enabled crime is down 5.9 per cent in the year 2026/27 to date, while knife-enabled robbery has fallen by 13.7 per cent over the same period.
Zombie-style knives, which typically feature a blade longer than eight inches and often include a serrated edge, spikes or multiple sharp points, and machetes were added to the list of prohibited weapons in England and Wales in September 2024. The recent spate of stabbings has sparked warnings from some politicians, including Reform UK’s London mayoral candidate Laila Cunningham, over safety in the capital.
But Scotland Yard has stressed that in 2025 the number of murders in London dropped to its lowest in more than a decade. The force has emphasised that the rate of violence in London is lower than in many other big cities, both in the UK and across the US and major European cities like Paris, Berlin and Barcelona. Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan has stressed this point in a swipe at Donald Trump.
In May, officers arrested 243 people and seized 159 knives during a two-week London-wide crackdown on knife crime. Using intelligence to identify the highest-harm offenders, officers carried out targeted patrols, weapon sweeps, and stop and search activity to make arrests.
