17-year-old Northamptonshire '˜gangster' who had two shotguns and dealt heroin locked up

The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was caught trying to bury a shotgun near an alleyway in Wellingborough on August 5 last year.

Northampton Crown Court heard police were called after a group of men were seen digging and whispering to each other.

Roxanne Aisthorpe, prosecuting, said officers found a sawn-off shotgun in the hole that had been dug and then arrested the teenager nearby.

He had dropped another bag, which also contained another shotgun as well as ammunition.

A search was carried out at his home address and police found a pistol in his bedroom as well as £4,000 worth of heroin, along with ‘cutting’ agents such as paracetamol and caffeine powder.

A quantity of cannabis was also discovered at his home address.

The teenager pleaded not guilty to three charges of possessing a firearm and dealing class A and class B drugs.

However, he was found guilty after a trial at Northampton Crown Court in January.

His Honour Judge Timothy Smith said the teenager had became part of a “gangland culture” where sawn-off shotguns were used to threaten and intimidate people.

He said: “You have undoubtedly fallen in to a gang culture. The possession of these types of drugs escalates splits and violence in communities, in this case Wellingborough.”

Judge Smith sentenced the teenager to three years in a young offenders institution for possessing the guns and 18 months for possessing the class A drugs with intent, to be served consecutively.

The teenager is likely to serve half his four-and-a-half year sentence before being released on licence.