Persistent investigation by Met officers concludes with teenager sentenced for firearms possession offences

A teenager, whose fascination with firearms production was bought to a stop by Met officers has been jailed for four years.

Sakhile Ntsele, 19 (10.01.2007) of Wandsworth Road, SW8 appeared at Inner London Crown Court on Tuesday, 24 March where he was sentenced after previously being convicted of 14 offences including possession of a firearm and making an explosive substance.

Detective Inspector Raymond Sekalongo, who led the investigation said:

“Ntsele was fixated with firearms and would spend his days watching videos about how to build weapons and develop explosives from his bedroom.

“We cannot speculate what Ntsele was capable of, however the weapons he produced had potential to cause serious harm. This highlights how easy it is for children to access dangerous and influential material online.

“While we do not want to scaremonger, we urge all parents to be conscious of what their child is accessing online, to prevent them from entering into a dangerous space where they could be influenced into criminality.”

The scale of Ntsele’s offending was discovered on Sunday, 27 October 2024 after officers were called to reports of a domestic assault at his address.

Police attended Ntsele’s home after reports he had assaulted a family member by squirting an anti-bacterial cleaner in his face before he attempted to attack them with a sword he had made.

While at the address, officers grew concerned about Ntsele’s home-made sword and carried out a search of his bedroom with a firearms recovery dog. They recovered seven improvised explosive devices and five firearms with ammunition.  

Ntsele was arrested on suspicion of threatening a person with an offensive weapon and threats to kill and charged on Saturday, 29 October.  He was also arrested on suspicion of possession of a firearm and released on bail for this offence, while officers tested the viability of the firearms recovered.

Enquiries remained ongoing which highlighted that Ntsele had come to the attention of police and other authorities at the age of 14 in December 2021. He was arrested while in possession of 55 rounds of ammunition, some of which he had attempted to adapt by inserting nails within the cartridges. This case was discontinued in March 2023 due to a lack of evidence.

Following Ntsele’s arrest in 2024, the leading detective worked to have the 2021 charges reinstated and added to his investigation.  

The investigation continued to develop, with analytical work carried out on Ntsele’s phone. His search history revealed the intensity of his obsession with weapons and firearms. Ntsele had spent hundreds of hours watching videos on how to make shotgun shells at home and build home-made weapons.  

These searches were paired with repeated purchases which Ntsele made on a relative’s credit card, buying steel balls and potassium nitrate using pseudonyms to avoid detection.

In May 2024, Ntsele had sent videos to a friend of a gun he had made from wooden panels and iron pipes. This gun had been seized by officers and when tested was determined to be functioning and at risk of causing serious harm.  

He was further arrested and charged with 26 further offences including eight counts of possession of explosive substances with intent to endanger life, eight counts of making explosive substances for unlawful purpose, five counts of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life and five counts of possession of a firearm without a certificate.  

On Monday, 24 November, Ntsele entered a guilty plea for possession of ammunition without a certificate and five counts of possession of a firearm without a certificate.

Following an 11-day trial which concluded on Monday, 8 December the jury found him guilty of eight counts of making explosive substances for unlawful purposes. He was found not guilty on all other counts.

Ntsele appeared in court on Thursday, 26 March where he was sentenced to four years in jail, with an extended five years on licence once released.