Online shop linked to murders to halt blade sales

Rayis Nibeel, 17, was jailed for murdering Omar Khan in Luton with a knife bought from DNA Leisure

An online shop that supplied blades to at least two teenage murderers has said it would no longer sell knives or swords.

DNA Leisure said it made a "commercial decision" to stop selling "bladed articles on our website from the 13th of June".

The BBC reported last month how Rayis Nibeel had bought 79 knives and swords from the site before murdering Omar Khan in Luton.

At the time DNA Leisure said it complied with all UK laws and that Nibeel had committed fraud by using his mother's identity to place orders.

The model of knife used to kill Omar Khan, next to the sheath found at the murder scene. It was described as an "interesting collector's piece that isn't afraid of heavy use" by online retailer DNA Leisure

A post on DNA Leisure's website said it had "arranged for overseas buyers to purchase our remaining [knife and sword] stock".

Some models of large knives are due to be banned in England and Wales in September.

Earlier this year, several blades on the firm's site likely to be caught by the ban were marked as part of a "massive stock clearance", with some sold at a discount.

The company is based in a business park on the edge of Luton and is run by former Junior Apprentice candidate Adam Eliaz, 31.

DNA Leisure said it was trying to sell its stock overseas but did not say how much stock it held

A spokesperson for DNA Leisure said: "Our plan is to go further than the ban coming into effect this summer and stop selling bladed items altogether - but we can only do this once we have sold all our stock.

"As per the note on our website, we are attempting to sell remaining items to an overseas buyer."

The spokesperson added: "Whether current stock is sold via our website or straight to an overseas buyer, once it is sold, we will no longer be selling bladed items."

DNA Leisure did not respond to follow-up questions about how much stock of knives and swords it held.

Nibeel attacked Mr Khan near an alleyway in the Sundon Park area of Luton

Nibeel bought 79 knives, swords and machetes from DNA Leisure between January and September last year. He was 16 at the time.

Among the knives was the blade used to kill Mr Khan in the early hours of 16 September 2023.

Mr Khan's murder was not the first committed with a blade bought from DNA Leisure by a juvenile.

In 2022, Ronan Kanda was murdered with a sword purchased from the retailer using false identity.

The site was also linked to the murder of 16-year-old Rahaan Amin in London last year.

The company is based in a business park on the edge of Luton

Gavin Hales, a senior associate fellow at the Policing Foundation think-tank, said DNA Leisure's website had "long been rather eye-catching, offering an array of typically cheap and often highly stylised and colourful knives, machetes and swords for sale".

He added: "The fact that knives and swords sold by DNA Leisure have now been linked to three murders, all committed by teenagers under 18, has rightly focused attention on the company."

Mr Hales said the repeat purchases by Nibeel "seemingly without DNA Leisure raising any concerns about the numbers involved" was "inexcusable".

"DNA Leisure have now done the right thing by announcing that they have stopped selling these weapons," he said.

'Police can only do so much'

Bedfordshire's former Police and Crime Commissioner, Festus Akinbusoye, said he raised concerns about the company while in office and called for Luton's trading standards to investigate.

He welcomed the move away from selling blades, but added: "I am, however, very angry that it has taken the murder of yet another resident, with a bladed object sold by DNA Leisure, to get to this point.

"Parliament needs to take a serious look at the ease with which people can get access to these zombie knives, swords and machetes online. The police can only do so much."

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