Total of 42 firearms surrendered in first two weeks of national amnesty
A total of 42 firearms have been surrendered in the first two weeks of a national amnesty targeting Turkish manufactured top venting blank firers (TVBF). The amnesty has seen 21 firearms seized from dealers and gun clubs, 17 surrendered by the public, and four recovered in policing operations. At least 27 of the weapons are specific brands targeted by the amnesty. One individual has been charged under a new offence for possessing a readily convertible firearm. The amnesty aims to reduce the risk of these weapons being converted for illegal use, with penalties of up to ten years' imprisonment for possession after the amnesty ends.
Greater Manchester Police have pulled 42 Turkish-made blank-firing guns off the streets in the first fortnight of a four-week national amnesty, with one man already charged under a new law banning the easily converted weapons.
Seventeen of the firearms were walked into police stations by members of the public, four were picked up during targeted operations and 21 were seized after officers visited registered firearms dealers and gun clubs, detectives revealed on Friday. At least 27 are believed to be the brands specifically targeted by the amnesty—Retay, Ekol, Ceonic ISSC and Blow—while the rest are other blank-firer models. More than 200 rounds of blank ammunition and several air rifles have also been surrendered.
A 31-year-old man has been charged with possessing a readily convertible firearm after officers recovered an already-altered Retay handgun in Moss Side on 2 May—what GMP believes is one of the first prosecutions under legislation that came into force in November.
Detective Superintendent Joe Harrop, head of serious organised crime, said anyone still holding one of the Turkish top-venting blank firers has until the amnesty ends to hand it in without fear of prosecution. “After that you could be looking at ten years in prison,” he warned. “Before this amnesty began, over a third of all our firearms recoveries since April 2021 were converted blank firers—106 out of 304 total seized, 63 of them TVBF. There have been 21 discharges involving a converted blank firer across Greater Manchester in that period, the last just over a year ago. Whilst we haven’t had any recent incidents, and thankfully none of the discharges 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.”
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