Large number of firearms recovered by police halfway into national amnesty

Police have recovered a staggering amount of firearms in the first two weeks of a national amnesty aimed at removing Turkish manufactured top venting blank firers from the streets.

The amnesty is halfway through, and officers have already recovered a total of 42 firearms. 

Whilst 21 of these firearms have been seized as part of proactive engagement with registered firearms dealers and gun clubs - another 17 have been surrendered to them by members of the public and four were recovered during policing operations. 

At least 27 of these weapons are believed to be the specific brands wanted under the amnesty – Retay, Ekol, Ceonic ISSC and Blow – along with other brands of blank firers. 

Over 200 rounds of blank firer ammunition and several air rifles have also been handed into police stations. 

Out of the four proactive recoveries, a 19-year-old man from Hardy Street, Glodwick, was charged, in what police believe to be one of, if not the first, charge under a specific new offence around possessing readily convertible firearms. The weapon recovered had already been converted. 

Whilst many people will have purchased Turkish manufactured top venting blank firers (TVBF) for perfectly legal reasons in the past, they are now illegal to possess due to being so easy to convert and should be handed in to any of the Greater Manchester Police Stations. 

Anyone who does so before the end of the amnesty will not face prosecution but those who do not could face up to ten years’ in jail. 

Detective Superintendent Joe Harrop, Head of Serious Organised Crime, said; “The response to this amnesty from both the public and retailers so far has been excellent. We are pleased to have had so many firearms already surrendered and expect to see even more over the remaining two weeks.  

“Before this amnesty begun, over a third of all our firearms recoveries since April 2021 were converted blank firers – 106 out of 304 total seized. 63 of those were TVBF. In the same period, there have been 21 firearms discharges involving a converted blank firer across the region. The last incident was just over a year ago. 

“Whilst we haven’t had any recent incidents, and thankfully none of the discharges in Greater Manchester have been fatal, it shows how criminals can access these firearms, convert them, and use them to create chaos. We absolutely won’t tolerate that. 

“Last year was a record year for us in terms of reductions in discharges and seizures of firearms – we intend to improve on that once again in our bid to make Greater Manchester a safer place to live.” 

To find out more about the amnesty, click here: Firearms Amnesty | Greater Manchester Police