A Totton man has been jailed after he was caught selling knives with Nazi symbols on them.

Stefan Petrescu, of High Street, was jailed for three years at Southampton Crown Court on Friday.

Police found weapons including a number of knives, CS gas and other weapons which Petrescu was willing to supply to others.

Petrescu pleaded guilty to one count of marketing combat knife by selling, one count of possession of a weapon for the discharge of a noxious liquid, gas, or electrical incapacitation device, and two counts of possession of an offensive weapon in a private place.

The sentencing comes after a joint investigation between both Hampshire Constabulary and the Metropolitan Police into reports of the unlawful selling of knives and other prohibited weapons in the New Forest via social media platforms.

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Officers recovered weapons, including a number of knives with Nazi insignias, CS gas and other prohibited items at Petrescu’s address.

Sentencing Petrescu, Judge Brian Forster KC said: “These were ferocious and vicious weapons, which you were willing to supply to anyone, and could have been used to kill or harm people.

“One of the aggravating factors here was the use of drill music in the videos, including a track entitled, ‘Ready For War’.”

Following the sentencing, Sergeant Andy Gwyer, of the New Forest’s Priority Crime Team, said: “I’m very pleased with the outcome of the investigation.

“The role of the Priority Crime Team is to tackle those who are committing the most harm and disruption to the lives of people living and working in the New Forest, and that is what has been achieved today.

“This investigation and conviction has contributed substantially to the disruption in the supply of weapons in the New Forest area.”

“A combined effort, involving lots of hard work by a variety of officers and teams, has ensured that Petrescu was placed before the courts and held accountable for his crimes.”

During the investigation, a mobile phone belonging to Petrescu was also seized. An array of messages were located on the device, across multiple social media platforms to send and receive messages to market the seized knives.

Sgt Gwyer added: “Some of those messages were quite stark and disturbing.

“The use of the internet allowed us to research Petrescu’s actions in such a way that we were able to build an overwhelming package of evidence against him.

“This significantly contributed to an early guilty plea, because, quite simply, he had nowhere to run.”