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Police tackle online gun sales
May 1 2003
By John Revill, Birmingham Post
Criminals who buy guns via the Internet are set to be targeted by detectives aiming to reduce the number of weapons on the streets.
The crackdown will be stepped up in the wake of the guns amnesty which ended yesterday with police and the Government hailing it a success.
More than 900 weapons were handed in to police stations across the West Midlands during the amnesty which began on March 31.
Among them were a rocket launcher and cannon as well as a variety of air weapons and imitation firearms.
Nationally more than 25,000 weapons were handed over, a figure which was described as encouraging by Home Secretary David Blunkett, who announced a review of firearms legislation.
Detective Superintendent Jon Hesketh, from West Midlands Police, said the amnesty had been successful in reducing the number of weapons in circulation in the region.
He pledged extra operations would now be carried out to disrupt people who buy weapons from online gun warehouses in America and Europe.
A quantity of ammunition seized by police in Birmingham within the last two weeks is thought to have been bought via the Internet.
Det Supt Hesketh said: "We are delighted with the progress of the amnesty, which we think has cut down on the number of weapons in circulation.
"This has made it harder for people to get their hands on weapons, so one way for them to obtain them is through the Internet.
"There are lots of sites out there which people can get them from, but we are identifying them and are looking at ways to disrupt them."
Covert operations will be carried out to halt the sales along with joint projects with Customs to prevent guns being imported.
About 40 per cent of the firearms handed in across the Midlands during the amnesty were pistols, including blank firers, imitation and real weapons.
Det Supt Hesketh said: "I never expected many members of the criminal fraternity would hand in their weapons.
"But we have tried to make it harder for them to get their hands on firearms by reducing the numbers out there and by encouraging their friends and family to give them up instead.
"I am particularly pleased about the large number of pistols handed over, which because they are easy to conceal, are the weapons used in most crimes."
The vast majority of weapons were never fired during crimes which made officers believe they were imitation or modified blank firing weapons.
"This shows how difficult it is for people to get their hands on the real McCoy," said Det Supt Hesketh.
"But the imitation or modified weapons are still very dangerous because it is impossible to tell the difference between them and the real thing while they will prompt an armed response from officers."
Mr Blunkett's decision to review the firearms laws followed a meeting with police and community leaders in London yesterday.
The conference heard how £1.5 million recovered from criminals' assets will be spent to support anti-gun campaigns in the community.
Within a month, the Home Office will publish a strategy on dealing with intimidation of witnesses in gun crime cases, while a new five-year minimum sentence for illegal firearm possession has also been proposed.
Mr Blunkett said: "There was clear consensus that the community must be at the heart of the continued drive to reduce the number of firearms being used on our streets."
© owned by or licensed to Trinity Mirror Plc 2003
