Dozens of blank-firing guns which have now been banned due to how easily they can be converted into potentially deadly weapons have been taken off the streets of Greater Manchester.
Four brands of Turkish manufactured top-venting blank firers (TVBFs) were outlawed at the start of the month. In their original state TVBFs have a fully blocked barrel and are designed to discharge only blank cartridges. When fired, combustion gases vent from the top of the weapon.
They are often used as starting pistols, for training purposes and in theatrical productions and historical re-enactments. TVBFs are sold with at least 50 per cent of their visible surface painted a bright colour, however, criminals often paint them black so they look like an original lethal purpose weapon.
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And the four specific brands have been banned due to how easily they could be converted, so they can fire live ammunition. They are 'Retay', 'Ekol' 'Ceonic', and 'Blow.'
"Its as simple as using tools at home" senior Greater Manchester Police officer Detective Superintendent Joe Harrop said in an exclusive interview with the Manchester Evening News.
"Drilling out the barrel, replacing a small number of parts and they can fire lethal projectiles. It's very easy to do." He said they appealed to criminals due to their availability and cost.
"There are criminal groups who profited from it" he continued. "They would legitimately buy one of these for a couple of hundred pounds, convert it at no cost, and then sell it on for several thousand. So there's a criminal market for them."
And they have been used to inflict shocking violence on the streets of our region. "We've recovered little over 300 lethal firearms over the last four years. Over a third of them, are converted blank firers fires.
"We've had 20 discharges over the last couple of years that have been orchestrated by using blank firers, including some that have led to injury. So a significant percentage over all the firearms we recover, start off as blank firers.
"Any one of those 20 occasions could have been a murder. They are also linked to at least eight homicides nationally. So it's a genuine risk. I think some people might have looked at it and thought 'oh, they're just BB guns or blank-firers, but that that's not the case."
As with elsewhere in the country, GMP held an amnesty throughout February, where they could be handed in without fear of prosecution.
In total, 76 were recovered. Of those, 70 were from the amnesty, and six were recovered as part of 'normal operational activity.'
"I think it's really, really good. Now there's a ban on importation and buying these, there's only a finite number in circulation in the UK" Det Spt Harrop said.
"So every one we get back is chipping away at it. So I think 76 is a really good number. It is likely we will be in the top three forces in the UK in terms of the number we recovered in that period of time.
"They are definitely something that are being used by criminals in Manchester. So taking 76 away will have a significant impact.
"It's really reassuring as well that of those 76, 70 have come from members of the public listening to what we've put out there in the media and choosing to hand them in. The message has obviously landed, and they don't want the risk of having those in the home."
However, the officer said there would likely be many more out there. "There definitely will be. It's hard to put a number on it" he said. "Some people have got them for a criminal purpose.
"Out of the six we recovered directly, three had already been converted, which shows how easy it is to do and that criminals are doing that.
"Two out of the other were seized in a criminal setting. So we recovered those at the same time as executing drugs warrants, where people were arrested with drugs.
"One of those two had been painted black, to try and make it like more of a firearm. It also had blank ammunition with it.
"So there will be many that people haven't handed in, because it's gone through that conversion process. They're out there, and we'll try and find those through our normal proactive methods.
"We have recorded in excessive of 100 of those over the last few years.
"Some people may have missed the amnesty or not realises that the one they've got is one of these particular brands" he continued.
The officer urged anyone in that situation to ring and talk to the police, and that those handed over outside the amnesty would be dealt with on a 'case by case basis.'
"Likewise, if people know of somebody whose got one, converted or otherwise, we would want that intelligence, even if its via Crimestoppers."
In neighbouring Cheshire, six 'Retay' handguns were handed in, including one in Wilmslow.
Superintendent Gareth Wrigley, who led Cheshire Police's amnesty operation said: ""We are very lucky that, as a county as a whole, Cheshire has some of the lowest rates of gun-related crime in the country, and now that these weapons have been handed over to officers, we have taken further steps to make our streets even safer. "