Viral video doesn’t show zombie knives delivery to ‘migrant hotel’

A video showing police officers opening boxes of zombie knives has been shared online with claims that the weapons were being delivered to a migrant hotel or “refugee centre”.

One Facebook video with almost 1,000 shares has overlaid text reading: “Mad viral video shows consignment of machetes/zombie knives/swords being delivered to migrant hotel.”

But this isn’t true. The original footage was shared by the Metropolitan Police and shows a shipment delivered to a residential address, not a migrant hotel. It relates to an investigation into Jonathan Soares, who imported and sold illegal zombie knives.

According to the Metropolitan Police, officers identified a shipment that Soares had ordered, which was on its way to an address in Croydon. The footage being shared shows police officers attending the property in July and unpacking its contents. As they open the packages, an officer can be heard counting five boxes of 18 weapons each, although the police later reported that the boxes contained “a total of 150 zombie-style machetes”.

A Met spokesperson told Full Fact the footage was filmed at a residential address, and claims relating them to migrant hotels or refugee centres are “inaccurate”.

Soares has pleaded guilty to 12 counts including “being concerned in the fraudulent evasion of a prohibition for zombie knives and flick knives” and marketing a combat knife. An initial ban targeting zombie knives came into force in 2016, and in 2024 further changes to the law attempted to clamp down on “zombie-style knives and machetes”.

Videos of real events can easily be shared with captions that change their meaning. Before sharing, it is worth checking where it came from, and whether or not it was taken out of context. Our misinformation toolkit can help.