784 teenagers held in half-term crime raids

More than 700 teenagers were arrested in a huge clampdown on half-term holiday street violence, it emerged today.

Operation Kartel focused on 11 hotspots in south and east London where teenage knife and gun crime is rife.

Police seized 74 weapons, including knives and baseball bats. Forty-three firearms, which include replicas and CS gas canisters, were also recovered. Of those, five handguns were capable of shooting live ammunition.

Officers also seized £32,000 in cash and at one address a kilogram of cannabis. One youth was caught carrying a martial arts weapon known as a rice flail — two pieces of wood connected by a chain.

Two teenage gang members were deported back to eastern Europe as part of the crackdown. In total 784 youths were arrested, the majority aged between 13 and 19. Those arrested were held on suspicion of possessing an offensive weapon or possible criminal activity including robbery or belonging to gangs.

The Met operation included officers from the British Transport Police, working with the Borders and Immigration Agency, Trading Standards and local authorities.

One sweep recovered seven knifes left on an estate. A senior police officer said gang members hid weapons for later use.

Kartel led to a 50 per cent reduction in gun-enabled crime, and a 26 per cent cut in knife crime compared with last year.