Amnesty for blank firing guns popular with organised criminals

A national amnesty will begin next week for owners of soon to be outlawed blank firing guns to hand them over to police.

Police forces across England and Wales will be holding a four-week Firearms Amnesty for Turkish manufactured top-venting blank firers (TVBFs) which are now illegal to possess following testing by the National Crime Agency and policing.

The amnesty will take place between 3 to 28 February 2025, after which anyone in possession of a top-venting blank firer (TVBF) could be subject to prosecution and up to 10 years imprisonment.

Tests by the National Crime Agency and policing, funded by the Home Office, show models produced by four Turkish manufacturers are readily convertible and therefore illegal. TVBFs are legal to buy in the UK without a licence by over 18s unless they are readily convertible.

In their original state TVBFs have a fully blocked barrel and are designed to discharge only blank cartridges. When discharged, combustion gases vent from the top of the weapon. TVBFs are sold with at least 50 per cent of their visible surface painted a bright colour however, criminals may paint them black so they look like an original lethal purpose (OLP) weapon as well as convert them to a lethal purpose firearm.

Since 2021, UK law enforcement has recovered more than 800 of the guns in criminal circumstances and converted blank firers have been used in at least four homicides in the UK in the last two years. The specific Turkish firearms soon to be made illegal are models with the brand names Retay, Ekol, Ceonic and Blow, although anyone with a TBVF who is unsure of whether the law change applies to them has been given the simple advice – if in doubt, hand it in.

Firearms legislation has not changed; the weapons are illegal to own under the Firearms Act 1968 as they can be readily converted using common household tools and without specialist skill on the part of the person carrying out the conversion. Recent testing completed by the NCA has demonstrated this. The police are asking people to hand in any TVBFs before 28 February 2025 to help them avoid prosecution and prevent these pistols getting into the wrong hands.

Many TVBFs may be held in innocence and ignorance of their illegality or may be overlooked or forgotten in people’s homes. The amnesty gives people the chance to dispose of the TVBFs safely by taking it to a local police station and handing it in.

The amnesty for TVBFs will be held for four weeks. Other unwanted, unlicensed firearms and ammunition may be surrendered to police at any time which will avoid the risk of them becoming involved in criminality and means that members of the community can dispose of firearms in a safe place.

During the Amnesty period, those handing in a Turkish manufactured TVBF will not face prosecution for the illegal possession and will not have to give their details. However, the history of any live firearms handed in will be checked for evidence if its use in crime.

Assistant Chief Constable Gareth Evans from North Wales Police said: “Gun crime in North Wales remains very rare but we are not complacent about it, which is why we are fully supportive of the Turkish Top-Venting Firearms Amnesty after tests have shown they can be readily converted into firearms, therefore making them illegal to possess.

“Surrendering top-venting blank firers manufactured by BLOW, CEONIC, EKOL and RETAY now will help prevent them getting into the wrong hands in the future and being used by criminals. We want as many top-venting blank firers as possible to be handed in and I encourage anyone in possession of one to visit their local police station to hand them in.

“Together with our partners we continually to work hard to educate people about firearms and the dangers that come with them, to ensure that gun crime doesn’t become prevalent in the future.”

Assistant Chief Constable Tim Metcalfe, National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for the Criminal Use of Firearms, said: “The top-venting blank firers are used by criminals and can be converted into lethal firearms.

“During the last two years, policing and the NCA has identified and disrupted several workshops used to convert these pistols into lethal weapons.

“In the same period, large numbers of converted weapons were recovered across multiple locations, alongside thousands of rounds of blank calibre and modified ammunition.

“One investigation recovered more than 400 converted weapons from a single crime group. There is a strong demand for them evidenced by the numbers imported and subsequent recovery from criminals.

“Stopping the sale of these top-venting blank firers from being converted will go a significant way to help protect the public.”

Top-venting blank firers can be handed in at any of the below police stations but anyone handing one during the Firearms Amnesty is advised to check the opening times of their station via the website.

To receive advice on how best to transport the weapon responsibly from home to the police station phone 101 before travelling.

If you know of people involved in illegal firearms activity should call the Police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Every call to Crimestoppers is anonymous and potentially vital to preventing or solving serious crimes; removing an illegally held firearm may just save someone’s life.

Notes:

Weapons can be taken to the following front counters:

• Wrexham Police Station, Rhosddu Road, LL11 1AU
• Mold Police Station, King Street, CH7 1EF
• Rhyl Police Station, Wellington Road, LL18 1DA
• Llandudno Police Station, Oxford Road, LL30 1DN
• Prestatyn Police Station, Nant Hall Road, LL19 9LH
• Caernarfon Police Station, Maesincla, LL55 1BU
• Bangor Police Station, Ffordd Gwynedd, LL57 1DT
• Holyhead Police Station, Stanley Street, LL65 1HL

Visit www.nabis.police.uk to find out more about the work of the National Ballistics Intelligence Service (NABIS).