Deadly Banned Turkish Firearms Collected During Guns Amnesty Initiative
A guns amnesty in the UK allows owners to surrender illegal Turkish firearms safely
Birmingham, UK, Firearms, Amnesty, Turkish, TVBF
Birmingham: Police are collecting banned Turkish firearms during a guns amnesty. Owners of top-venting blank firers (TVBF) can hand them in. These weapons are now illegal, and the police want to keep them off the streets.
TVBFs are designed to fire blanks but can be modified. Criminals sometimes paint them to look like real guns. This makes them dangerous and illegal. Four models are now banned: Retay, Ekol, Ceonic, and Blow.
Since 2021, over 800 guns have been recovered in the UK. Some of these converted blank firers were used in serious crimes. Last week, police seized nine TVBFs in Birmingham, along with tools for converting them.
A 43-year-old man was charged for possessing items to convert imitation firearms. He will appear in court soon. The amnesty runs until February 28, 2025, allowing people to surrender their TVBFs without facing prosecution.
Many owners may not know their TVBFs are illegal. Police encourage anyone with these weapons to bring them to a local station. This helps prevent them from falling into the wrong hands.
Detective Chief Inspector Alastair Orencas emphasized the importance of this amnesty. He stated that surrendering these weapons can help keep communities safe. The police want as many TVBFs as possible to be handed in.