A gang of drill rappers including a gunman in a clown mask have been jailed for 23 years each after they were caught in a car packed with a cache of weapons on a mission to hunt down rivals.
Lekan Akinsoji, 20, Darnell Joseph-Newill, 21, Nathaniel Lewis, 23, and Troy Ifill, 22, made drill videos bragging about killing their rivals.
The four were 'tooled up' with a sawn-off shotgun as well as a terrifying 'Zombie' knife and a pickaxe as they drove through enemy territory.
Their BMW had been kitted out with false plates and they ditched their mobile phones to try and beat any attempt to trace their movements.
But they were spotted by an armed police patrol who pursued them during a mile-long chase through the streets of Leytonstone, east London, engaging in a shoot-out.
Four members of a drill gang have been jailed for 23 years each after an armed police chase during which one aimed a shotgun at pursuing officers, pictured, ringed
Lekan Akinsoji, 20, left, and Nathanial Lewis, 23, right, were involved in the police chase and were found to have a huge cache of weapons in their BMW. Akinsoji and Lewis have links to the Woodgrange Gang from Forest Gate
Darnell Joseph-Newill, 21, left, and Troy Ifill, 22, right, who have links to the Stratford Gang, were also involved in the chase and a court heard they had been planning to 'hunt down' rivals from the E11 gang
After Akinsoji aimed the gun at officers, one of them shot through the BMW's windscreen four times and a shoot-out was only ended when the rappers were blocked by an oncoming vehicle
Akinsoji and Lewis have links to the Woodgrange E7 Gang from Forest Gate while Joseph-Newill and Ifill are affiliated with the Stratford Gang from the same area. The court heard they were looking to find rivals from the E11 gang.
Front seat passenger Akinsoji wearing a white clown mask, took aim with the shotgun and the officer behind the wheel pulled out his Glock and fired four shots through the BMW's windscreen.
His colleagues also fired their weapons, but the dramatic shoot-out was only ended when the car was blocked by an oncoming vehicle after turning the wrong way down a one-way street.
Front seat passenger Akinsoji wore this white clown mask, pictured, while aiming the shotgun at the police car
Judge Mark Dennis QC told the defendants: 'It is not without significance that the defendants were driving around the area affiliated with the E11 gang, a gang identified as a rival gang in one of their drill rap videos.
'This was planned and organised violence.
'The offence involved five participants in what was to be a group attack late at night in public streets
'The firearm was a sawn-off single barreled shotgun. It was found to be loaded with a live cartridge, cocked, and ready to fire.'
Friends and relatives gasped with shock in the packed public gallery as the sentence was announced.
Some supporters burst into tears and wailed loudly as the four were led to the cells.
His Honour Judge Mark Dennis QC said: 'The young men were free to make a
