Jamaica detective held on gun charge

An officer in the Jamaican murder squad has been charged with possessing a loaded gun after armed Metropolitan police swooped on a car he was travelling in.

Detective Constable Lawrence Wood, 28, was arrested after officers from SO 19 and local CID arrested him in Hackney.

He has been charged with possessing a converted Brocock Magnum.38 pistol containing five live rounds.

Wood was arrested in a Suzuki 4 x 4 jeep on 28 February with music promoter Steven Donovan Mitchell, 37.

Both men have appeared at the Old Bailey and the case was transferred to Southwark Crown Court to be heard on 7 May. Wood was granted bail and Mitchell was remanded in custody.

Mitchell, who lives in Birchanger Road, South Norwood, has also been charged with unlawful wounding, having a firearm in a public place and possessing a gun.

Met officers frequently travel to Jamaica to exchange intelligence about Yardie gangsters and drugs mules who arrive in London and the other cities in Britain. They also swap ideas about policing and how to combat spiralling gun crime.