Moment knife dealer slices bottle with sword and shows off his weapons

Shocking footage shows a masked knife dealer slicing bottles in half with a samurai sword and displaying his 'vicious' arsenal of weapons.

The clips show Stefan Petrescu, 23, holding up weapons from his £3,000 stash which included machetes, knuckle dusters, and knives.

Last week Petrescu from Southampton- who boasted that his blades were used by anti-immigration rioters - was jailed for almost three years after he admitted various weapon offences.

The clips uploaded to Instagram were released for the first time today, showing him advertising his weapons to potential buyers.

In his posts, the father-of-one wears gloves and a mask to advertise his stock while drill music plays in the background - including the song 'Ready for War'.

Petrescu can be seen brandishing the swords to the camera - over captions like 'the first and last of these mad tings'.

It was previously heard the knife dealer used his Instagram to refer to the disorder following the Southport stabbings, writing: 'They'll be out with weapons and s***. Bought from me!'

Petrescu was handed a 34-month custodial sentence.

A crown court judge said Petrescu was willing to 'sell such ferocious weapons to really anyone' - and highlighted how they easily could have been used to kill.

Prosecuting, Dominic Woolard told Southampton Crown Court, Hants, said that police received 'intelligence' that Petrescu was using Instagram to advertise knives earlier this year.

Upon visiting his address in August, officers uncovered '£3,000 worth of weapons' and found he had posted several videos of his collection which were shown to the court.

In one recording, the weapon dealer used a large knife to slice a water bottle in half - and another user commented how 'only you could do a sword test with a spliff in your mouth'.

Mr Woolard said: 'The Crown say you can see from these [videos] how dangerous the weapons being advertised by this defendants are.

'The clear implications are that these weapons are being marketed in themselves for the use of violence.

'The Crown say that the offender is intending that they are to be used for a criminal purpose or is at least reckless as to whether [they will be].'

Commander Stephen Clayman, the national policing leader on knife crime, previously said Petrescu imported knives - including 70 in recent months - and sent them out through the post.

And, he boasted that the rioters involved in the disorder that followed the Southport stabbings would be using the 'weapons and s***' that were 'bought from me'.

In mitigation, Michael Cogan said Petrescu has already spent 77 days in custody and has found it to be an 'unpleasant experience'.

Mr Cogan tried to argue that his client initially started the business in the hopes to 'sell to collectors', adding: 'But it's abundantly clear he had in place no ways of knowing whether the purchaser was a collector or otherwise.'

But, this was shut down by His Honour Judge Brian Forster KC who said he finds it difficult to believe collectors would have 'interest' in these types of weapons.

Mr Cogan said Petrescu is the parent to a 19-month-old son. He claimed the CS gas - also known as tear gas - was bought to protect his partner.

And, it was heard Petrescu's 'interest in knives' was 'influenced by his father'.

'He had difficulty in finding employment and took an opportunity which he now regrets to sell knives,' Mr Cogan continued.

'When he became a father, the financial pressures upon him grew considerably - that's one of the principal reasons he turned to this form of making money.'

Petrescu, from Southampton, admitted one count of marketing combat knives by selling and two counts of possession of offensive weapons in a private place.

'You fall to be sentenced for very serious offence,' Judge Forster KC told Petrescu.

'As I have already stated, the essence of the first two offences is that you marketed the knife to suggest that they would be suitable for combat or violent behaviour.

'The types of weapons described in this case included knives which are ferocious in their appearance, butterfly knives, a baton, knives that could best be described to a lay person as being in the nature of a sword.

'I note also the presence of knuckle dusters.'

The judge highlighted how in the videos advertising the weapons, Petrescu wore a mask and chose to add 'drill music' in the background such as the song 'ready for war'.

And, he said over the last 18 months he had built up a knife collection worth over £3,000.

'When police came to your home, you seemed to have taken the opportunity to hide the CS gas,' he continued.

'I do not know why it was there, it could have been there to harm, or protect the knives and weapons that you had.

'In any event, no one is allowed to have that type of [substance].'

The judge described the weapons as 'vicious', adding: 'You were willing to sell such ferocious weapons to really anyone.

'They could have been used in serious crimes to kill or cause serious injury.'

He ruled that going to prison was the best and most adequate place for 'punishment' and handed him a three-year custodial sentence.