Body camera footage from the Metropolitan Police showed an officer cutting their way through the doorframe and door of the property on Wandsworth Road, Lambeth.
A battering ram was then used to smash their way in, before police arrested a groggy man in his 20s during the raid which happened soon after 5am on Tuesday.
The man was held on suspicion of importing prohibited weapons into the UK after 10 knives were found in the flat including lock knives and flick knives, said police.
It is alleged he was involved in importing knives from China, including banned zombie knives which were seized by Border Force.
He remains in custody.
The investigation has since been taken on by detectives from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, according to the force.
In a statement, Detective Chief Inspector Kara Moulds said: “These knives have no place on London’s streets.
“They are specifically designed to inflict serious harm, which is why our officers are relentlessly targeting those suspected of bringing them into our communities.”
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Zombie-style knives are weapons that often have a blade longer than eight inches and frequently include a serrated edge, spikes or multiple sharp points.
Those knives along with zombie-style machetes were added to the list of prohibited weapons in England and Wales in September 2024.
The Metropolitan Police said that in 2025 the number of murders in London dropped to its lowest in more than a decade.
