Latest news with #KaraTombling
BBC News
07-03-2025
- BBC News
Cache of illegal blank firing guns handed in to police amnesty
More than 40 guns which fire blanks were handed into Surrey Police and Sussex Police following a four-week firearms plea for Turkish-manufactured top-venting blank firers (TVBFs) ran the entire month of weapons are legal for over-18s to buy in the UK without a license however testing has shown some, prohibited brands are possible to convert into viable handguns. Surrey Police and Sussex Police Firearms and Explosive Licensing Unit said 42 illegal TVBFs were handed in to stations during the amnesty. Possession of prohibited brands - Retay, Ekol, Ceonic and Blow - can carry sentences of up to 10 years. Legal TBVFs have a fully blocked barrel which can only discharge blanks and they are also recognisable as they are partially painted a bright colour. Illegal versions have been adapted to fire live rounds and are sometimes painted black to resemble a real handgun. According to police, converted blank firers have been used in at least four homicides in the UK in the last two years. Ch Insp Kara Tombling said: "We want to reassure the public that gun crime in Surrey and Sussex remains very rare, and the number of firearms handed in reflect that. "The seizure of these illegal top-venting blank firers will go a significant way to help protect the public."The amnesty is now over, but other unwanted, unlicensed firearms and ammunition may be surrendered to police at any time following normal firearms surrender processes."
BBC News
30-01-2025
- BBC News
Surrey: Amnesty for blank guns converted to live firearms
Police in Surrey and Sussex are holding an amnesty for four types of Turkish-made blank firing guns that are popular among organised crime by the National Crime Agency (NCA) found top-venting blank firers (TVBFs) made by Retay, Ekol, Ceonic and Blow could easily be converted to shoot live rounds, so they were made amnesty is active from 3-28 February. Anyone found with a Retay, Ekol, Ceonic or Blow TVBF after next month faces up to ten years in prison."Gun crime in Surrey and Sussex remains very rare but we are not complacent about it, which is why we are taking part in this national campaign," said Ch Insp Kara Tombling. It is legal for anyone aged over 18 in the UK to by a TVBF without a licence unless they are readily weapons are made with a fully-blocked barrel and only fire blank cartridges. When fired, gas is emitted from the top of the are also sold with at least half of their surface painted in a bright colour but criminals will often paint them black to look like a real 2021, UK police have seized roughly 800 TVBFs which were converted to fire live ammunition. Retay, Ekol, Ceonic and Blow TVBF brands can be easily converted using simple tools. They were also used in four killings in the UK since 2022, according to the guns can be handed in at the following police stations:Surrey:GuildfordStainesSussex:ChichesterWorthingCrawleyBrightonEastbourneUckfieldHastings
