A teenager who attacked a family member has been convicted of possession of a firearm and producing explosives. The trial heard that the 18-year-old has made jokes about attacking his classmates with homemade guns and spent years making a collection of weapons in his bedroom, according to the BBC.
Sakhile Ntsele, from Wandsworth in south-west London, has been convicted of 14 counts including possession of a firearm and making an explosive substance.
Detective Inspector Raymond Sekalongo, who led the investigation said that the ‘manipulative’ teen was ‘completely obsessed with weapons and firearms’. His collection was discovered after Ntsele attacked a family member with a sword he had made from a metal bar in October 2024.
Seven improvised explosive devices and five 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 weapons and firearms.
“His obsession continued to grow alongside a self-taught expertise of crafting weapons and our investigation found he was watching videos about weapons almost on a daily basis. Ntsele manipulated everyone around him so that his actions wouldn’t be detected and his family were unaware of the disturbing material Ntsele was viewing.
“We cannot speculate what Ntsele was capable of however the work of our investigation team has ensured that he will not be able to cause harm to anyone.
“This case has highlighted the accessibility of dangerous material available to young people online. We would encourage all parents to be conscious of what their child is accessing online, to prevent them from entering into a dangerous space where they could be influenced into criminality.”
After his arrest in October enquiries highlighted that Ntsele had come to the attention of police and other authorities at the age of 14 in December 2021. He was arrested while in possession of 55 rounds of ammunition, some of which he had attempted to adapt by inserting nails within the cartridges. This case was discontinued in March 2023.
Analytical work on the Londoner’s phone revealed that he had spent hundreds of hours watching videos on how to make shotgun shells at home and build home-made weapons. These searches were paired with repeated purchases which Ntsele made on a relative’s credit card, buying steel balls and potassium nitrate using pseudonyms to avoid detection.
On Monday, December 8 the jury found him guilty of eight counts of making explosive substances for unlawful purposes. He was found not guilty on all other counts.
Ntsele is due to be sentenced in February.
