Published by Robert L Senior Reporter on Wednesday 12th February 2025, at 06:50hrs
A total of 18 blank firers have been surrendered by retailers since the engagement which started back in 2024
In anticipation of a national amnesty to recover Turkish manufactured Top-Venting Blank-Firing (TVBF) firearms, which started on Monday 3 February 2025 and is running until Friday 28 February 2025, GMP’s Firearms Licensing Unit proactively engaged with registered firearms dealers and gun clubs across Greater Manchester.
This engagement, which is continuing but started back in November 2024, has seen a total of 18 blank-firing firearms surrendered to us from retailers.
These firearms – of the models Retay, Ekol, Ceonic ISSC and Blow – were legitimately purchased by their owners at the time but are now illegal due to how easily convertible they are.
Greater Manchester Police said on Tuesday:
“There are 40 registered firearms dealers and more than 20-gun clubs in Greater Manchester, all of which our Firearms Licensing Unit contacted ahead of the amnesty to let them know that these were now prohibited weapons, as per direction from the National Crime Agency.
We visited them, ensure they understood what this meant for them and collected the surrendered weapons.
On the back of this engagement, it also led customers to hand in several firearms, with one customer handing in six, which were destroyed by the retailer and surrendered to GMP.
Engaging with registered firearms dealers, gun clubs and owners is part of the Firearms Licensing Team’s daily business, as they ensure that those who do keep firearms are doing so legally, without risk to the public.
The licensing unit will step in and remove guns when there is a possible escalation of risk, especially if those guns are illegal to possess.
Firearms & Explosives Licensing Manager Simon Akker from our Serious Crime Division said: “As part of our ongoing firearms amnesty, the Firearms Licensing Unit has been working closely with local retailers and gun clubs to proactively recover blank-firing weapons.
“Our collaborative approach has been critical, as blank-firing weapons pose a significant risk to our community.
“These seemingly inert devices can be illegally modified into viable and dangerous firearms, potentially falling into the hands of criminals, which we know has already happened here and across the country.
“By maintaining open communication and providing clear guidance, we’ve seen significant voluntary surrenders. Members of the public can also play their part by handing in any of these weapons before the amnesty deadline, as if you do so now, you won’t face prosecution for possessing an illegal weapon.”
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