Luton knife wholesaler hands in 35,000 ‘zombie’ knives

A knife wholesaler whose weapons have been used in multiple murders has surrendered more than 35,000 “zombie” knives.

According to police, the knives and machetes were designed to “kill and maim.”

Under a government scheme, Luton-based Sporting Wholesale will receive £10 compensation for each knife it sells.

The company said it did not wish to comment.

Police Chief Alex House, who leads knife crime at Bedfordshire Police, said the knives and machetes had “no other use” than as weapons.

“There’s no other practical use for them,” he told the BBC. “If you look at the design… the purpose is to kill and maim.”

Zombie knives were first banned in 2016, but a new, broader definition The law, which aims to ban more knives, comes into effect in England and Wales on September 24.

From that moment on, it will be illegal to possess a knife with a sharpened blade longer than 20 cm, if it also has other characteristics, including:

• A serrated cutting edge
• More than one hole in the knife
• Spikes
• More than two sharp points in the blade

The weapons are shredded and the metal is recycled by a specialist company.

According to House, it was a “horrific amount of knives.”

“The fact that we have them all here now and that they are going to be destroyed will absolutely save lives.”

Sporting Wholesale imported knives in bulk and sold them to retailers. It owns the knife brand Anglo Arms, which the company admitted in 2021 was a “reputation among gangs“.

The company said earlier this year that “knife crime has increased over the last five to six years”, adding that “as a result… we have reduced the Anglo Arms range to just practical and traditional knives”.

Eddy Eliaz is the general manager and major shareholder of the company.

His younger brother Adam Eliaz is the director and majority shareholder of DNA Leisure, an online retailer located on the same industrial estate. DNA Leisure also handed in 1,542 knives.

Both companies announced in June that they would no longer sell knives, except for their current inventory.

A message on the Sporting Wholesale website states: “After supplying the trade with cutlery and archery products for over 20 years, we are “saddened to announce that Sporting Wholesale Ltd will now cease selling these items”.

It was added that a final shipment of the products would be delivered, “but no new orders will be placed”.

“This is all very unfortunate, but the UK is now no longer a place where these types of items can be sold openly,” the report said.

The move followed press releases last month’s conviction of Rayis Nibeel and an accomplice for the murder of Omar Khan in Luton.

In 2023, Nibeel purchased 79 knives and machetes from DNA Leisure, despite being only 16. He used a family member’s ID to purchase the knives online in 13 separate transactions.

According to DNA Leisure, Nibeel had committed “fraud” and used an “age-verified courier” to deliver the packages.

The knife that killed Mr Khan was being sold as part of a pair by DNA Leisure, which described it as the “Anglo Arms Bayonet Style Fixed Blade Knife Set”. In April this year, a similar set was sold for £29.95 by DNA.

A wound from an Anglo Arms machete killed a 14-year-old Gordon Gault after an attack in Newcastle in November 2022. Two teenagers were convicted of manslaughter.

A murder trial also heard how an Anglo Arms bulletproof knife was fatally stabbed Joshua Clark and Haidar Shah in Halifax in October 2023.

Of these attacks, only the weapon used to kill Omar Khan is banned.

There has been criticism that the new ban, designed by the previous Conservative government, doesn’t go far enough.

On September 9, the Labour government held a meeting in Downing Street focused on knife crime. It said it was considering a further ban on ninja swords and making it harder to buy dangerous weapons online.

Bedfordshire Police say they are also working to tackle the black market, which could increase further under the tougher ban.

Detective Inspector Graham Newton, of the police’s anti-gang unit, said the change to the zombie knife law was welcome but he was aware that “as with other prohibited items, there will be people who will use it for criminal gain”.

He promised that detectives would be as “resourceful” in their attempts to catch illegal vendors as the vendors themselves.

“We need to tackle knife use at its source and then end street violence.”

Si Philbert, a youth professional at Wingman Mentors and St Giles Trust, said while the new ban is “not enough” it is “a start” and “long overdue”.

Wingman works in partnership with the Bedfordshire Home Office funded Violence and Exploitation Reduction Unit to prevent knife crime.

“If zombie knives didn’t exist,” added Philbert, 49, “we would still have a problem with knife crime.”

According to Mr Philbert, “nine times out of ten” young people carry knives out of fear.

He said he encouraged young people to “change their environment” from a “war zone” to a “safer place… where they don’t feel like they have to protect themselves”.

“If you can prevent them from picking up a knife in the first place, that’s better than just banning knives.”

The zombie knife return scheme runs until September 23.