Call for blank firer owners to hand them in during national gun amnesty

A national campaign has begun calling for owners of soon to be outlawed blank firing guns to hand them over to police.

Forces up and down the country are taking part in a four-week amnesty aimed at taking certain models of top venting blank firers (TVBFs) out of harm’s way.

That’s after tests by the National Crime Agency (NCA) indicated four specific types of Turkish-manufactured TVBFs could potentially be converted into viable handguns.

Bearing this in mind, a change in the law is coming in from the start of next month that will make it illegal to buy or own one of these firearms in the UK – with anyone found with one facing the possibility of up to ten years in jail.

This potential punishment could apply to anyone who has one of the Turkish-made TVBF models with the brand names ‘Retay’, ‘Ekol’, ‘Ceonic ISSC’ and ‘Blow’ in their possession.

Owners of these blank firers can avoid getting into trouble ahead of the law change by taking advantage of an amnesty – starting today (3 February) and running until 28 February – where they can hand them in without fear of reprisal.

Nobody will have to leave their details when surrendering their TVBF, however, the history of any live firearms handed in will be checked to see if there’s any evidence of it being used in a crime.

Nottinghamshire residents will be able to surrender these firearms over to police at the front counters of any of the five stations below during opening hours, which have all been specifically chosen for this campaign.

• Newark Police Station, Queen's Road, NG24 1LJ
• Mansfield Police Station, Great Central Road, NG18 2HQ
• Oxclose Lane Police Station, Bestwood, NG5 6FZ 
• Radford Road Police Station, Hyson Green, NG7 5GX
• Beeston Police Station – Foster Avenue, NG9 1AB

Anyone wishing to take part has been told to use common sense when transporting their TVBF to one of the chosen stations – by placing them in a labelled bag or box and making their way straight there.

In certain situations when people wanting to take part in the amnesty are unable to travel to one of these locations, they will have the option of calling 101 and requesting an officer to come and pick it up from their home.

While this amnesty – led by the NCA, National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and National Ballistics Intelligence Service (NABIS) – is aimed at seizing TVBFs, anyone wanting to hand over any unwanted firearms or ammunition will still be able to do so, as per normal surrender procedures.  

Top-venting blank firers are legal to buy in the UK for people over the age of 18 and, in their original state, are designed to discharge only blank cartridges, while they are painted in bright colours to distinguish them as non-viable firearms. 

They are, however, appealing to criminals who convert them, due to the large profits they can generate from selling them, with more than 800 TVBFs recovered by UK police in criminal circumstances since 2021.

Detective Superintendent Christopher Sullivan, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Gun crime in Nottinghamshire thankfully remains very rare but we are not complacent about this, which is why we are conducting this amnesty after tests showed certain blank firers can be readily converted into viable firearms, therefore making them illegal to possess.

“Surrendering these specific top venting blank firer models now will help prevent them getting into the wrong hands in the future and being used by criminals.

“We want as many TVBFs as possible to be handed in to ensure this doesn’t happen, so I’d encourage anyone from our county who has one to take it to one of the five police stations outlined at some point this month.

“There will be people who own these firearms but are unsure whether theirs is one of the soon to be banned models, so to them, I’d say, if you’re unsure, hand it in and don’t take the risk.

“Together with our partners we continually 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:

“These top venting blank firers are used by criminals and can be converted into lethal firearms.

“During the last two years, policing teams across the UK and the NCA have 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, which is evidenced by the numbers imported and subsequent recovery from criminals.

“Stopping the sale of these TVBFs from being converted will go a significant way to help protect the public.”

If you know of anyone involved in illegal firearms activity, you should report it immediately, either to the police on 101, or by calling Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.