Shocking moment: ‘Coward’ found loaded gun hidden in daughters’ underwear drawer

This is the shocking moment police discovered guns a cowardly gangster had hidden in his children’s underwear drawers in south London.

Danny Butler, 44, recklessly hid six guns, ammunition and drugs in the home he shared with his wife and three daughters, one of whom was just 18 months old.

Details of Butler’s arrest were revealed as figures show almost half of the shootings investigated by the Metropolitan Police go unsolved.

Detectives have declared war on the underworld’s gunsmiths, leaving people dead and injured on the streets of the capital.

Sebastiaan James-Kraan, 20, died after being shot by a group of men in Hanwell on June 9.

A nine-year-old girl is still fighting for her life after a drive-by shooting in Dalston, one of at least six people injured in four attacks in just two weeks.

Last year alone, 386 illegal firearms were seized in London – more than one a day.

At Butler’s home in New Park Road, Tulse Hill, three handguns, including one loaded, were discovered in the girls’ clothes drawer.

Another pistol and a sawed-off shotgun were in their parents’ closet, along with a large quantity of ammunition.

A second sawed-off shotgun was found in a closet.

Further research uncovered Class B drugs lying on the living room floor and easily accessible to toddlers. Police seized class A drugs kept in a television and a cupboard.

On April 22, Butler was jailed for 18 years at Croydon Crown Court for possession of firearms with intent to endanger life and possession of drugs with intent to supply.

Officers immediately alerted Lambeth Social Services due to the safety risk the children posed.

Detective Superintendent Victoria Sullivan described Butlers’ actions as “reckless”, adding: “It’s really sad to see an example of gangs taking advantage of vulnerable people in our communities to stockpile firearms for them.

“Our investigation led officers to remove a dangerous man from our streets and protect vulnerable children.

“Significant weapons were found in the home that could have been used to potentially kill or injure others.”

Jackie Taylor’s son Tyrese Miller, 22, was fatally shot in a case of mistaken identity as he returned from a night out at the pub with friends in Croydon in April last year. Two men were convicted for their roles.

Ms Taylor said: “No mother should have to bury their son like I did.

“What happened to Tyrese changed us all. None of us will ever truly come to terms with what happened.

“I fear that if this can happen to Tyrese, it can happen to anyone.

“Once you met Tyrese, you never forgot him. He was loved. He was the center of our family. He had friends everywhere.

“Sometimes it was easier to say who he didn’t know. For someone who lived such a short life, he meant a lot to many of us.

Commander Paul Brogden, head of the Met’s specialist crime department, said: “Guns destroy lives and communities.

“Recent shootings in parts of London are a sad reminder that we still have work to do when it comes to cracking down on illegal firearms, and my thoughts are with those affected.

“The Met’s continued work on guns shows our commitment to making London a safer place.

“We will continue to build confidence in communities disproportionately affected by these offenses and relentlessly pursue criminals who use and supply firearms.

“Our progress should serve as a message to criminals and gang members using guns: we will pursue you and we will bring you to justice. »

He added that officers are dismantling the organized crime groups that cause the most harm.

This has reduced the number of firearms offenses to their lowest level in 15 years.

However, the proportion of Met cases that end with an offender being prosecuted has reached 52 per cent, which is the highest rate in 11 years, but leaves 48 per cent unresolved.

Detectives believe this is partly due to fear of preventing witnesses from coming forward or sharing vital evidence, including doorbell footage, and the fact that some victims want to take revenge themselves rather than cooperate with the police.

Since March 2023, the number of firearms offenses in the previous 12 months has decreased from 196 to 145.

Gun murders fell from 12 in 2021 to 10 in 2022 and eight last year.

In Harrow, Brent and Barnet, west London, there has not been a single fatal shooting since 2020, compared to at least one per year since 2014.

In these boroughs, over the past four years, 80 people have been charged with various firearms offenses, of whom 64 have been convicted, resulting in a total of 367 years in prison.

Specialist officers have successfully reduced gun crime in Lambeth and Southwark, south-east London, by 44%.

It is estimated that about half of the city’s shootings are gang-related.

Supt Sullivan added: “Often the victim themselves who have been shot do not want to tell the police and this may be because they are seeking revenge themselves.

“Today’s victim could therefore be tomorrow’s suspect. And that’s why it’s really important that we act very, very quickly to try to resolve this situation. »

A growing number of shootings involve converted blank firearms, originally designed for non-lethal purposes such as bird scaring, that are being turned into deadly weapons.

Around 46 per cent of the 386 guns seized by the Met last year were converted blanks.