Police plea to anyone with Turkish manufactured firearms to hand them in now

Greater Manchester Police are urging anyone in possession of dangerous firearms to hand them in right now or face up to 10 years in prison.

The force is supporting a national amnesty aimed to recover Turkish manufactured Top-Venting Blank-Firing (TVBF) firearms from the streets. 

The reason this amnesty is so important is that these types of TVBF are readily convertible without specialist equipment, and across the country they have been used in several serious, criminal incidents, including four murders.  

Of the firearms recovered over the last three years, 61 of them have been the four concerned brands, and they had been converted. 

The amnesty begins on Monday, February 3, 2025, and particularly covers models Retay, Ekol, Ceonic ISSC and Blow. 

Whilst the amnesty only applies to these four brands of blank firers if they haven’t been converted, other firearms can be surrendered during this period, as can all brands of blank firers, converted or otherwise. 

The four-week amnesty, which runs until Friday, February 28, encourages anyone who owns one of these firearms to turn them into police stations across Greater Manchester, as even though they may have been legitimately and lawfully purchased originally, their possession is now illegal. 

However, those who hand these in will not face criminal prosecution within this period.  

For those who own a Turkish TVBF will be able to surrender these to the front desks of any police station. 

Officers are advising those transporting any firearm to one of the amnesty locations wraps them in a bag or places them in a box, to avoid any undue alarm to members of the public and to ensure everyone’s safety. 

Whilst the amnesty only applies to these four brands of blank firers if they haven’t been converted, other firearms can be surrendered during this period, as can all brands of blank firers, converted or otherwise. 

Detective Superintendent Joe Harrop, who will lead the firearm's amnesty, said, “In Greater Manchester, we haven’t had many incidents involving TVBF, but it’s always a possibility, like with any firearm, these could end up in the wrong hands and cause serious harm to individuals or communities. 

“We have already done some engagement work with the registered firearms dealers based in Greater Manchester ahead of this amnesty starting, but now, we come to the public to ask that anyone who is an owner of these brands of blank firers surrenders them immediately. 

“As soon as the amnesty ends, anyone who stills owns one of these firearms could be facing up to ten years in prison. We have been relentless in our work to reduce the number of firearms discharges across Greater Manchester, and seized a record number of criminally used firearms last year; our approach into 2025 remains exactly the same.” 

 More information can be found here: https://www.gmp.police.uk/police-forces/greater-manchester-police/areas/greater-manchester-force-content/c/campaigns/2025/firearms-amnesty/ 

If you know of anyone who you believe has access to, owns, or is using a firearm of any type for criminal means, please contact police immediately. You can provide information via 101, website and LiveChat service, or 999 if the threat is immediate. Alternatively, you can provide information completely anonymously through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.