Dual Irish citizen pleads guilty over stash of 10 firearms

Khalid Ahmed, aged 23, pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey on Friday to possessing firearms and ammunition with intent to enable another person to endanger life. Stock picture

A man with dual Irish and Dutch citizenship has admitted possessing a stash of 10 guns and ammunition after arriving in Britain on a cross-Channel ferry.

Khalid Ahmed, aged 23, pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey on Friday to possessing firearms and ammunition with intent to enable another person to endanger life.

Prosecutor Peter Ratliff said the pleas had been accepted on the "full facts", meaning there would be no trial on the remaining 13 charges.

While the offences were not alleged to be terrorism offences, Mr Ratliff said there was material suggesting Ahmed had a "terrorist mindset".

On March 26, Ahmed was stopped at the port of Dover in Kent by counter-terrorism police when he arrived in the UK from Calais in France.

When officers searched Ahmed’s Mercedes, 10 self-loading pistols were found hidden behind the seats, along with ammunition.

Some of the guns were loaded, the court was told.

They included two HS9 black pistols, six black Glock pistols, a Walther black pistol, and a CZ75 black pistol.

Ahmed, a construction worker who was born in Amsterdam, entered his plea by video-link from Belmarsh jail.

The defendant, of Ealing, west London, will be sentenced at the Old Bailey on October 9.

Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb further remanded him into custody.

When the charges were announced, Commander Helen Flanagan, head of counter terrorism policing London, said: “We appreciate this news may be concerning to the public, but since this arrest took place, we have been carrying out a number of inquiries and, to date, we have not identified any imminent threats to the public relating to this.”