Man jailed after ammunition and explosive material found at Woodford Green address

A man has been sentenced for explosives and firearms offences in Waltham Forest.

Ricky Anderson, 45 (09.08.78) of Beechwood Drive, Woodford Green appeared at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Thursday, 9 May where he was sentenced to a total of five years in prison for firearm offences. Anderson was also given a five year serious crime prevention order.

He had previously been found guilty of:

- Possession of an explosive device/substance
- Possession of a firearm
- Possession of ammunition without a certificate
- Conversion of a firearm from imitation to real

The court heard that in the early evening of Tuesday, 27 September 2022, police were called to reports of a disturbance at an address on Beechwood Drive.

When police arrived Anderson initially attempted to make off from officers, but was detained after a brief foot chase.

He was searched and officers recovered two blank rounds of ammunition. A Firearms Recovery Dog located a loaded gun nearby.

A search of his address resulted in the seizure of explosive powder contained in an improvised potentially explosive device along with a vice and tooling equipment, blank rounds of ammunition (approx. 80 rounds), fireworks and chemicals (included sulphur, charcoal and graphite) all of which can be used in the manufacture of firearms.

In interview Anderson claimed that he had found the makeshift explosive device and was intending to dismantle it.

Anderson was arrested and taken to an east London police station where on Thursday, 29 September subsequently charged.

He appeared in custody at Thames Magistrates Court later that same day where he was remanded pending his next court appearance.

The investigation involved specialist units from the Met’s Trident and Area Command, SO15 Counter Terrorism Command and specialist search teams.

Inspector Matt Freeman of the Met’s Trident and Area Command said:

“Anderson is a dangerous individual. While we can’t know what his motivations were, we do know that he had equipped himself to do harm using a number of potentially lethal methods.

“It was sheer luck that the chemicals he was using didn’t cause an explosion that could have damaged the surrounding homes and occupants.

“Information from the public is key to helping us do our job effectively and I would urge anyone to contact police if they suspect someone is involved in criminality.”

If you have information that could help keep your community safe, but don’t want to speak to police, please contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. They do not ask your name and cannot trace your call or I.P address.

Any young people who have information about violence or knife crime, can visit www.fearless.org where they can pass on information anonymously – your I.P address will not be traced. Fearless is part of the Crimestoppers charity, and is also independent of the police.