Huge haul in firearms amnesty

POLICE received 225 firearms — 80 were illegally owned — and more than 3,600 rounds of ammunition during last month’s Give Up The Gun firearms amnesty, it was revealed today.

The most unusual items include a sub-machine gun and a shotgun disguised as a walking stick.

During the amnesty, police asked members of the public to surrender unlawfully held or unwanted guns and ammunition to help prevent them getting into the wrong hands.

The haul was made up of nine rifles, 26 shotguns, 51 handguns, 62 air weapons, 70 imitation firearms, three antique weapons, four deactivated weapons and 3,681 rounds of ammunition.

Det-Chief Insp Debbie Dooley of the Xcalibre Task Force said: “This year’s firearm amnesty was a remarkable success and I am delighted that we have managed to remove over 200 weapons from the streets.

Efforts

“Gun crime continues to fall year on year. The amnesty may be over, but our war against gun crime is not.

“This is a result of continued efforts from the force and our partners to safeguard, educate and intervene at the earliest opportunity.

“We will continue to work hard to make the streets safer and remove guns from our community and we urge the public to help us in this fight.”

The amnesty gave the public the chance to dispose of firearms or ammunition with no questions asked, by simply taking it to a local police station and handing it in.

During that period, those surrendering firearms did not face prosecution for the illegal possession and they had the option to remain anonymous.

Tony Lloyd, Police and Crime Commissioner for Greater Manchester, said: “We know the misery weapons like these can cause to our communities so it is great news that so many have been taken off our streets.

“We’ve seen a remarkable reduction in the use of firearms in Greater Manchester in recent years.

“This amnesty sends out a clear message that guns have no place in our society.”

GMP and its Xcalibre task force works closely with firearms licensing and license holders to support the hundreds of law-abiding citizens who own firearms safely and legally.

Det-Chief Insp Dooley added: “We’re completely supportive of firearms license-holders who own and use guns safely, responsibly and legally. Put simply, we are not anti-guns, we are anti-gun crime.

“If you are a license-holder or qualified collector of firearms, please conduct regular checks to ensure your weapons are secured and cannot be tampered with.”

l If you come across a weapon, you do not need to wait for an amnesty — police will always be on hand to secure unwanted weapons. Call 101 for more information.