A gun man has been jailed for four-and-a-half years after being found with thousands of pounds worth of stolen property from burglaries committed across London.

Ousama Rhanmia, 25, was also sentenced at Kingston Crown Court for possession of 46 CS gas canisters, a sawn-off shotgun and 23 rounds of ammunition.

CS gas is commonly used as tear gas, which irritates the eye nerves to cause burning pain, tears and temporary blindness for up to an hour.

The deadly weapons were found in January after police raided Rhanmia's home in Bedford Hill, Balham, after lengthy investigation prompted by a burglary in Kingston.

A year ealier, on January 26, 2012, a desktop computer, laptops and an iPhone were stolen from a house in Elm Road, Kingston.

A week later Detective Constable Nicola Stopps from Kingston police received information from the victim, who was sent an email from a friend in California who wanted to know why he was deleting files from a shared folder on the internet (Dropbox).

The victim told police this burglar must be the one deleting the files - the electronic trail eventually leading police to Rhanmia's flat in Balham.

On January 8 Kingston police arrested Rhanmia at his home where they uncovered a sawn-off shotgun, shotgun cartridges, 46 CS Gas canisters and a silencer.

Property was also recovered from a number of other burglaries that had been committed across London.

Detective Sergeant Tony Skinner, from Kingston police, said: "This was a protracted investigation which uncovered thousands of pounds worth of stolen property from burglaries committed across London not to mention deadly weapons.

"It has taken 18 months of hard work to get this result and thanks must go to Det Con Nicola Stopps who oversaw the case from the beginning.

"Her diligence paid off resulting in Rhanmia's conviction today."

Rhanmia pleaded guilty to handling stolen goods but pleaded not guilty on the firearms offences. He was found guilty of the firearm offences and sentenced on November 20.