Four-week blank-firing gun amnesty underway
People caught with them after 28 February risk prosecution
A four week-amnesty is underway across Merseyside to hand in blank firing guns, that are being converted to fire deadly ammunition.
Turkish manufactured top-venting blank firers are now illegal to possess after testing by the National Crime Agency and policing.
Anyone found with the weapon after 28 February could be jailed for up to ten years.
They are being banned because tests show they are being converted into weapons that can severely injure or kill.
In their original state, TVBFs have a fully blocked barrel and are designed to discharge only blank cartridges.
When they are discharged, combustion gases vent from the top of the weapon.
They are sold with at least 50% of their visible surface painted a bright colour, but criminals are converting them into lethal firearms and also painting them black so they look like an original lethal weapon.
More than 800 of the guns have been recovered in criminal circumstances and they have been used to kill four people in the UK in the last two years.
At least 37 have been recovered in Merseyside since 2021.
Detective Chief Superintendent Karen Jaundrill said:
"As a force, we have seen firsthand the dangers, consequences and ripple effect gun crime has on individuals, families and the wider Merseyside community. We have worked hard over the last few years to bring down the number of discharges on our streets and we will do everything in our power to prevent further discharges and loss of life.
"That’s why this Turkish Top-Venting Firearms Amnesty is so important, after tests have shown they can be readily converted into firearms, therefore making them illegal to possess.
"Surrendering top-venting blank firers (TVBFs) manufactured by Retay, Ekol, Ceonic and Blow now will help prevent them getting into the wrong hands in the future and being converted and used by criminals.
"I would encourage anyone with one of these weapons in their possession to support our mission to proactively tackle gun crime and hand it in to a police station during the Amnesty between 3-28 February."
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."
They can be handed in to ten Merseyside police stations over the next four weeks.
Anyone handing in the weapon is asked to wrap it securely in a sealed bag or box.
Main Stations Open Monday to Friday 10am – 8pm and Saturday 10am – 6pm
· St Annes Street, Liverpool, L3 3HJ
· Birkenhead, Wirral, CH41 5EU
· Huyton, Knowsley, L36 9XU
· St Helens, WA10 1TG
· Southport, Sefton, PR9 0LL
Sister Stations Open Tuesday to Friday 10am – 6pm
· Admiral Street, Liverpool, L8 8JN
· Wallasey, Wirral, CH44 1DA
· Kirkby, Knowsley, L32 8RF
· Newton-Le-Willows, St Helens, WA12 9BW
· Bootle (Marsh Lane), Sefton, L20 5BW