By Anna Edwards From MailOnline.com
Criminals and drug dealers were caught in an undercover sting after police officers posed as staff in a fake hip hop music shop.
A total of 37 armed criminals and drug dealers, including 30 gang members, have been jailed for a total of more than 400 years following the ‘sting’ operation in the shop, called Boombox, in Edmonton, north London.
Codenamed Operation Peyzac, the £500,000 operation involved undercover officers kitting out as a fully-operating rap and hip hop music store, with a private back room which was used to carry out deals with drug and gun sellers, and the store was wired with CCTV and recording equipment.
The ‘shop’ operated for more than 12 months and officers, who were trained in the sort of music they were selling, were able to film the trading of firearms, ammunition and drugs.
On one occasion they captured a man on CCTV selling undercover police four guns. He had travelled to the shop on a busy bus with the loaded weapons hidden in a plastic bag.
Another man was filmed handing over cocaine with a street value of £4,000.
In April 2010 652 officers carried out simultaneous raids on 35 addresses across north and east London and Leeds.
As well as guns and drugs, police also uncovered swords, knives, a stun gun and CS gas during the swoops, and one gun was found hidden in compost.
The pictured criminals, aged between 16 and 41, were charged with various offences including drug dealing, trafficking guns and money laundering. They were jailed, or given community sentences or fined.
Two of the criminals’ images were not released by police.