Force backs amnesty on DIY-convertible blank guns

An amnesty has been announced for owners of four types of Turkish-made blank firing guns that can be easily converted to fire live ammunition.

Tests by the National Crime Agency (NCA) found top-venting blank firers (TVBFs) made by Retay, Ekol, Ceonic and Blow could be converted using just basic DIY tools.

The guns are popular with organised criminals and have been used in at least four killings over the past two years, the agency said.

Lincolnshire Police is supporting the amnesty, which runs from 3 to 28 February, and is urging owners of the firearms to hand them in.

TVBFs are legal to buy in the UK without a licence by over 18s. They can be used in theatre or film, as starting pistols, or at demonstration events.

In their original state, they have a fully blocked barrel and are designed to discharge only blank cartridges.

However, testing by the NCA found the four models were "readily convertible with common DIY tools without specialist skills", and therefore those models are illegal.

National ballistics intelligence service co-ordinator PC Gareth King, of Lincolnshire Police, said: "The ease at how these types of weapons can be readily converted into lethal barrelled firearms is alarming.

"These types of weapons regularly change hands and move around the country for criminal use."

Police across the country have seized about 800 TVBFs converted to fire live ammunition since 2021, the NCA said.

The Lincolnshire force urged people in possession of the models to hand them in at police stations in:

• Boston
• Grantham
• Lincoln (South Park Avenue)
• Louth
• Skegness
• Sleaford
• Spalding

Anyone found guilty of possessing a Retay, Ekol, Ceonic or Blow TVBF after next month could face a prison sentence of up to 10 years.

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