Man From Battersea Found With Sawn Off Shotgun
Enriquo Withers convicted of dealing class A drugs and firearms offences
Enriquo Withers of Queenstown Road. Picture: Met Police
A 20 year-old man from Battersea faces a lengthy jail sentence after being found in possession of a shotgun and a £1,000 worth of crack cocaine and heroin.
Enriquo Withers of Queenstown Road was driving through Rotherhithe on 19 November 2020 in a black BMW with two other men when police noticed them acting suspiciously.
When officers turned their vehicle around to stop the car it sped away and soon after came to a halt with the occupants attempting to flee. Police detained the driver, 25-year-old Kane Lamar of Southwark and gave chase to Withers and 25-year-old Jack Purfield, also of Southwark.
The pair ran into a nearby housing estate. Withers was found hiding in a front garden and was arrested. Nearby two packages were found later confirmed to contain ammunition and around £1,000 worth of crack cocaine and heroin.
Police then retraced the route taken by Purfield and Withers and located a black holdall in the corner of a courtyard. Inside was a sawn off shotgun, further ammunition and several pairs of rubber and latex gloves.
Despite an extensive search, no trace of Purfield was found. Following enquiries, he was arrested a number of days later.
On Monday, 25 October, all three appeared at Inner London Crown Court where they were convicted of two counts of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs, possession of a shotgun without licence and two counts of possession of ammunition without licence.
They were remanded in custody pending sentencing on Friday, 17 December.
Detective Constable Tim Tripp, from the Met’s Violent Crime Taskforce, said, “We are always working to remove guns and other weapons from the streets of London and we are pleased that another deadly firearm has now been removed from circulation.
“Those who carry weapons should be in no doubt – we will use every tool at our disposal to protect our communities by prosecuting those intent on perpetrating serious violence.”
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October 26, 2021