This is part of a haul of high-powered assault rifles and machine guns seized by police after being smuggled into the UK across the English Channel.

Officers believe the 22 automatic assault rifles, nine Skorpion machine pistols, ammunition and silencers were destined for criminal gangs in London and the South-East.

Police describe the seizure at a small marina in Kent as the largest of its kind in the UK. Seven men and a woman, aged from 24 to 58, were arrested at gunpoint on Tuesday by officers from the National Crime Agency’s Armed Operations Unit.

The weapons, with 58 magazines, two silencers and up to 1,000 live rounds of ammunition, were allegedly discovered in holdalls and a suitcase in a van leaving Cuxton Marina near Rochester, shortly after the arrival from France of a motor cruiser, the MV Albernina.

The agency said it tracked the vessel as it crossed the Channel with help from the Border Force and the National Maritime Information Centre.

The agency’s deputy director, Graham Gardner said: “This was an extremely significant seizure, the largest of its kind in the UK. I have no doubt that these weapons would have ended up in criminal hands and it goes without saying the risk they would have posed to the public.

“We are still in the early stages of a significant investigation which will continue for some time. Through the excellent work and action taken alongside Kent Police we have made a huge step in protecting the public in Kent and further afield.”

Three men and a woman were arrested near the A228 in Cuxton, while three men were arrested in Orpington. They were appearing via video link at Medway magistrates court today.

A 28-year-old man arrested at Swanley in Kent has been released on bail.