Londoners urged to hand in illegal firearms during four-week amnesty
Londoners urged to hand in illegal firearms during four-week amnesty
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People who currently possess illegal Turkish-manufactured firearms are being urged to hand them in to police as a four-week amnesty is set to begin. From February 28, anyone found in possession of an illegal top-venting blank firer (TVBF) could face up to 10 years in prison. However, residents in London have until the above date to surrender these items at police stations without the risk of prosecution. They will also not have to give their details.
The firearms will be examined to determine if they’ve previously been used in serious violence or other criminality, Met Police said. Detective Superintendent Tim Mustoe, of Met Police, said the force had become increasingly concerned about the risk these weapons posed and those intent on causing “serious violence on the streets of London”. The guns, which are manufactured in Turkey, pose little risk in their original form, but in recent years an increasing number have been converted and have been used in serious violence.
Since 2021, more than 800 have been recovered in criminal circumstances across the UK, a spokesperson for Met Police said. A converted TVBF was used in the fatal shooting of 20-year-old Sebastiaan James-Kraan in Ealing in June 2024, and three people charged in connection with his murder will stand trial in April. While no gun was ever recovered, forensic analysis indicates that a TVBF was also used in the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Tyler McDermott in Tottenham in April 2023. In June, four people were found guilty of Tyler’s murder.
Det Supt. Mustoe said: “We’ve already seen their lethal potential in at least two cases here in London. We know they’ve also been used in many other non-fatal incidents too. “The majority of top venting blank firers in circulation were bought lawfully by people with no ill intent. However we now know what can happen if they’re converted to do harm which is why it’s important that we recover as many as we can.
“I would urge anyone who has one of these weapons at home to do the responsible thing and hand it in at a police station. “They will not face police action for possession of the gun at the point of surrender if they do so during the amnesty, but if they choose not to do so now and are found to have one of these guns at a later date, then the consequences will be quite different.”. TVBFs are legal to buy in the UK without a licence, unless they are readily convertible.
