Officers from dedicated teams across London, including Tower Hamlets, made 46 arrests during operation Aldrin as part of a four-day crackdown on crime.

A loaded firearm, an 11-inch machete and drugs were just some of the items officers seized as part of the operation across central London.

From Wednesday, October 28 to Sunday, November 1 dedicated Metropolitan Police teams were deployed in Central East (Tower Hamlets and Hackney), Central North (Camden and Islington) and Central South (Southwark and Lambeth).

They used automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technology as well as setting up dedicated stop sites on London Bridge and Clapham Common, where they stopped vehicles of interest.

A total of 73 vehicles were searched resulting in 46 arrests for offences such as possession with intent to supply class A drugs, possession of an offensive weapon and money laundering.

There were 16 drug seizures and five weapons were taken off the streets.

In addition 17 individuals were referred to Divert - an intervention programme aimed at reducing re-offending.

Ch Insp Jack May-Robinson of the Violent Crime Taskforce (VCTF) said: “This is the first year we have run operation Aldrin and it’s with huge success. The aim is to reduce the number of weapons on our streets and disrupt offenders from carrying out their criminal activity, ultimately it keeps communities safe.

“This huge effort forms part of our Autumn Nights activity, a three-week intensification on existing efforts within the Met to prevent and bear down on violence in all its forms.

“We know now that nights are darker anti-social behaviour and violence can increase, but high visibility, proactive operations like this ensure we are relentless in our pursuit to reduce crime in our city.

“I’d like to thank all of the officers who worked long, late hours into the early mornings to arrest offenders, remove weapons and drugs from our streets and instil confidence in our communities.”

During the four-day operation officers from the VCTF, Operation Venice, the Roads and Transport Policing Command’s Road Crime Team, Project Servator and City of London Police came together.

They were also supported by local BCU officers, Special Constables, dog units and officers specially trained in spotting those with criminal intent.