Man, 26, jailed for two years after DNA linked to shotgun in Dagenham

A man has been sentenced to two years behind bars for illegally possessing a shotgun.

William Cosier, 26, of Canterbury, was handed the jail term yesterday after the firearm was found with ammunition under a wheelie bin by a home in Lake Gardens, Dagenham.

Wood Green Crown Court heard how a member of the public found the Beretta 20 bore shotgun before handing it over the police in April last year. The stolen firearm was one of two that been taken in December 2014 after a car was broken into in Ashford, Kent.

Cosier was found guilty after his DNA was matched to the gun, whose owner possesed a firearms certificate and was attending an organised shoot at the time of the break-in.

Det Serg Jim Barry of the Trident and Area Crime Command led the investigation said it was “not established” how the gun had got from Kent to the wheelie bin in Dagenham.

“However, what is abundantly clear from DNA evidence is that Cosier came into contact with this firearm at some point in the interim period,” he added.

“While there is no evidence the shotgun was used in crime, it is clear by the fact that it was found concealed, and with ammunition, that the intent was there.”

Cosier’s conviction comes during the Met’s week-long firearms surrender #giveupyourgun to reduce gun crime and remove illegal weapons from London.