Sakhile Ntsele, of Wandsworth Road, is said to have been “completely obsessed” with weapons and firearms.
According to the Metropolitan Police, he self-taught himself to craft weapons and watched videos about them almost on a daily basis.
It’s claimed he “manipulated” people around him so that even his family were unaware of the material he was viewing.
On October 27, police were called to his home following reports of him assaulting a family member by squirting anti-bacterial cleaner in his face.
He then attempted to attack a family member with a sword, which me made from a thin, metal bar.
Police searched the address and found seven improvised explosive devices and five guns with ammunition.
The teenager was arrested on suspicion of threatening a person with an offensive weapon and threats to kill.
Days later, he was charged on October 29.
He was also arrested on suspicion of possession of a firearm and released on bail for this offence, while officers tested the viability of the firearms recovered.
It was discovered that that Ntsele came to the attention of police and other authorities at the age of 14 in December 2021.
At the time, he was arrested while possessing 55 rounds of ammunition, some of which he had attempted to adapt by inserting nails in the cartridges.
However the case was discontinued in March 2023.
Following his arrest in 2024, the 2021 charges were reinstated and added to the investigation.
Ntsele made repeated purchases on a relative’s credit card to buy steel balls and potassium nitrate, using pseudonyms to avoid detection.
In May 2024, Ntsele had sent videos to a friend of a gun he had made from wooden panels and iron pipes.
He was further arrested and charged with 26 further offences including eight counts of possession of explosive substances with intent to endanger life, eight counts of making explosive substances for unlawful purpose, five counts of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life and five counts of possession of a firearm without a certificate.
On November 24 this year, he pleaded guilty for possession of ammunition without a certificate and five counts of possession of a firearm without a certificate.
Then following an 11-day trial which concluded 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.
Sentencing will take place in February 2026, although a date has not been set yet.
Detective Inspector Raymond Sekalongo, who led the investigation said: “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.”
