Suspicions were first aroused after he squirted anti-bacterial cleaner in a relative’s face
A teenager has been convicted of 14 counts, including possession of a firearm and making an explosive substance. Sakhile Ntsele, 18, of Wandsworth Road, was caught on October 27 last year after police went to his home following reports he’d attacked a relative by squirting anti-bacterial cleaner in his face, before attacking him with a homemade sword fashioned from a metal bar.
Police then became increasingly worried about the homemade sword and searched Sakhile’s room with a firearms recovery dog. They found seven improvised explosive devices and five firearms with ammunition.
He was arrested on suspicion of threatening a person with an offensive weapon and threats to kill. He was also arrested on suspicion of possession of a firearm and bailed while experts tested the viability of the firearms recovered.
The investigation unearthed that Ntsele had come to the attention of police and other authorities in December 2021 when he was 14. He was arrested while in possession of 55 rounds of ammunition, some of which he had attempted to adapt by inserting nails within the cartridges, but the case was discontinued in March 2023.
Ntesele’s phone history showed the depth of his obsession with weapons and firearms. He’d watched hundreds of hours of tutorials on how to make shotgun shells at home and build homemade weapons.
He’d also made repeated purchases on a relative’s credit card, buying steel balls and potassium nitrate using pseudonyms to avoid getting caught. In May 2024, he’d sent videos to a friend of one of his homemade guns fashioned from wooden panels and iron pipes.
It was taken, tested, and found to work. He was further arrested and charged with 26 further crimes, including eight counts of possession of explosive substances with intent to endanger life, eight counts of making explosive substances for unlawful purposes, five counts of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life and five counts of possession of a firearm without a certificate.
On Monday, November 24, he entered a guilty plea for possession of ammunition without a certificate and five counts of possession of a firearm without a certificate. After an 11-day trial which ended today (Monday, December 8) the jury found him guilty of eight counts of making explosive substances for unlawful purposes.
He was found not guilty on all other counts. He will be sentenced in February next year.
Investigation lead Detective Inspector Raymond Sekalongo said: “This was a complex case involving a young man who was completely obsessed with weapons and firearms.
“His obsession continued to grow alongside a self-taught expertise of crafting weapons and our investigation found he was watching videos about weapons almost on a daily basis. Ntsele manipulated everyone around him so that his actions wouldn’t be detected and his family were unaware of the disturbing material Ntsele was viewing.
“We cannot speculate what Ntsele was capable of however the work of our investigation team has ensured that he will not be able to cause harm to anyone.
“This case has highlighted the accessibility of dangerous material available to young people online. We would encourage all parents to be conscious of what their child is accessing online, to prevent them from entering into a dangerous space where they could be influenced into criminality.”
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