‘Weapon obsessed’ teenager guilty of making explosives | UK | News
The young man who attacked a family member was found guilty of possessing a firearm and producing explosives. At the hearing, it was learned that the 18-year-old boy made jokes about attacking his classmates with homemade weapons and spent years collecting weapons in his bedroom. BBC.
Sakhile Ntsele, from Wandsworth in south-west London, was convicted of 14 offences, including possession of a firearm and making explosives.
Detective Inspector Raymond Sekalongo, who led the investigation, said the ‘manipulative’ teenager was ‘completely obsessed with guns and firearms’. His collection was discovered after Ntsele attacked a family member in October 2024 with a sword he made from a metal rod.
7 handmade explosives and 5 firearms with ammunition were found in his room.
Detective Inspector Raymond Sekalongo added: “This was a complex case involving a young man who was completely obsessed with guns and firearms.
“Along with his self-taught expertise in weapons making, his obsession continued to grow and our investigation revealed that he watched videos about weapons almost daily. “Ntsele manipulated everyone around him to ensure that his actions went unnoticed and that his family remained unaware of the disturbing material Ntsele was viewing.
“We cannot speculate on what Ntsele might have done, but the work of our investigation team has ensured he could not harm anyone.
“This case has highlighted the accessibility of dangerous material that young people can access online. We encourage all parents to be aware of what their children are accessing online to prevent them from entering a dangerous area where they could be drawn into crime.”
Investigations conducted after his arrest in October revealed that Ntsele came to the attention of police and other authorities in December 2021, when he was 14 years old. He was arrested with 55 bullets in his possession, and he tried to adapt some of them by inserting nails into the cartridges. This case was discontinued in March 2023.
An analytical study of the Londoner’s phone revealed that he spent hundreds of hours at home watching videos on how to make shotgun shells and make homemade guns. These searches were matched with repeated purchases that Ntsele made with a relative’s credit card, purchasing steel balls and potassium nitrate using aliases to avoid detection.
On Monday, December 8, the jury found him guilty of eight counts of producing explosives for unlawful purposes. He was found not guilty on all other counts.
Ntsele is expected to be sentenced in February.
