The heartbroken mum of a 16-year-old boy murdered with a ninja sword that his killer bought online said tech bosses must be held accountable for selling deadly weapons.
Pooja Kanda, whose son Ronan was stabbed in a tragic case of mistaken identity, told The Mirror she backs new Government plans to punish retailers fuelling Britain's knife crime epidemic. She said she was devastated when the boss at the site that sold Ronan's murder weapon said he was acting legally - and continued to sell swords and machetes.
New measures announced today(WED) by the Home Office will see tech chiefs found to be encouraging knife crime face heavy fines, thought to be in the region of £10,000. Pooja said: "We were just absolutely angry that somebody had sold that weapon so easily, it was so easy to kill my child. It needs to be stopped.
"I lost my son because these weapons were available." Announcing new measures to prevent online sales, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: "Those who enable or perpetrate these crimes must face the full force of the law.”
The Government has announced that tech execs who fail to stop dangerous and illegal knives being advertised on their platforms will be held personally liable. Senior executives will face fines if they market illegal weapons and glorify violence.
Proposals published today would give police the power to issue notices to bosses ordering them to remove specific pieces of content – potentially within two days. If this is ignored the senior executive will get a second notice, and faces a hefty fine if they fail to act.
One of Ronan's killers, Prabjeet Veadhesa, had purchased the 20-inch sword and a number of other blades from a site called DNA Leisure using his mum's ID. He was able to collect the parcel unchallenged on the day Ronan was attacked as he walked home in Wolverhampton in 2022.
Following Veadhesa's trial, which saw him convicted of murder alongside fellow 17-year-old Sukhman Shergill, Ronan's sister Nikita contacted the firm. In an email last year she wrote: "I don’t believe there is even one reason that is good enough for you, or any other company, to be selling these murderous weapons." In a response shown to this newspaper, owner Adam Elias responded: "We do not sell these as weapons.
"Our products are not advertised as weapons. Not only is it illegal, but it's also immoral to advertise that way." He went on: "The items I sell do not turn people into criminals. Criminals turn these items into weapons."
Pooja said: "After I sent the email I realised that he (the retailer) was going to keep on selling these weapons. It's disgusting.
"My son's death could have been prevented so easily. It needs to be illegal."
The site continues to operate to this day, although it has announced it will stop trading next month(DEC). In his response Mr Elias said he understoood the family's desire to change the law, but said enforcement of knife offences by police is "pathetic".
The Home Office has also today(WED) launched a consultation over plans to ban Ninja swords. This will finalise the description of this deadly weapon – the first step towards outlawing the weapons.
Ms Cooper said: “The epidemic of knife crime that has grown over the last decade is devastating families and communities right across the country. That’s why this government has set out an unprecedented mission to halve knife crime over the next decade and today we’re taking determined action to get lethal blades off Britain’s streets.
“That means tough new sanctions for technology executives who fail to tackle illegal knife sales on their platforms, and a comprehensive ban on ninja swords."
Commander Stephen Clayman, National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for knife crime said: “For far too long, deadly weapons have been far too easily accessible online, with content promoting their use for protection and combat rife on many platforms and seemingly little being done to remove it."
The Mirror has contacted Mr Elias and DNA Leisure for comment.