Police and border officials are struggling to stem the rise in illegal guns being smuggled into the UK, a leading police chief has warned.
Chief Constable Andy Cooke, the national police lead for serious and organised crime, said the rising supply of weapons - many coming in from eastern Europe - was expected to continue due to the scale of the problem.
The situation has become so serious that the National Crime Agency (NCA) has used its legal powers to direct every police force in England and Wales to step up its efforts in providing intelligence on the supply of guns, The Guardian reported.
Mr Cooke told the newspaper: "We in law enforcement expect the rise in new firearms to continue.
"We are doing all we can. We are not in a position to stop it anytime soon."
Mr Cooke said efforts to tackle the issue had been "hampered" by a fall in the number of police officers and the resulting reduction in proactive work to "keep these criminals on the back foot".
According to the NCA, many weapons are bought in eastern Europe where they are legal and unrestricted. They may then be transported to the Netherlands, where Dutch organised crime groups negotiate the sale to a British buyer.
The illicit cargo is then smuggled into the UK via ferry ports, train stations and postal hubs, often concealed inside vehicles or parcels.
Guns are also being bought on the dark web.
The latest figures from the Office of National Statistics for the year ending June 2018 showed a 5% decrease in offences involving firearms, to 6,362. Figures released earlier in the year showed an 11% increase to the end of December 2017.
Mr Cooke said he believed serious and organised crime was one of the two greatest threats to national security, alongside terrorism.
"Nationally, we need to ensure serious and organised crime gets the same funding as the terrorist threat," he added.
Additional reporting by Press Association.
