Police have launched a second gun amnesty to keep blank-firing guns – which can easily be converted into deadly weapons – away from criminals

Bruni manufactured blank-firing weapons(Image: GMP)

Greater Manchester Police has today launched a second gun amnesty designed to prevent blank-firing guns which can easily be converted into deadly weapons from getting into the hands of gangland enforcers.

For a month starting on Monday (February 2) people who may well have legally purchased Italian-made blank firers manufactured by Bruni can hand them into police without facing prosecution.

They had been legal until testing by the National Crime Agency experts established that five specific models of Bruni’s top and side‑venting blank‑firing imitation firearms could be easily converted into deadly weapons which can fire bullets.

It follows a similar amnesty a year ago for specific blank firers manufactured in Turkey which resulted in 77 guns being handed in to GMP.

Blank firing guns which may cost just £300 to £400 are being converted by gangland armourers into deadly weapons, requiring only limited expertise and a specialist drill bit which can be purchased for less than £10. They are are then painted black and traded for thousands of pounds between criminals.

In their original state, blank firers have a fully blocked barrel and are designed to discharge only blank cartridges. When fired, combustion gases vent from the top or side.

The latest amnesty is being launched to prevent blank firing weapons from being stolen by criminals or falling into the wrong hands. Before the change in the law, such blank firing weapons were legitimately purchased, for instance as starting pistols for sports clubs and also for theatrical or film purposes. They may have been unused for years and left in an owner’s loft.

Bruni manufactured blank-firing weapons(Image: GMP)

Police have launched the amnesty to ensure they never get into the wrong hands.

Over the last five years, Greater Manchester Police has seized 352 guns and a rising proportion of them are converted blank firers. Over the same period 125 of the seized guns were converted blank firing guns. Most were manufactured in Turkey but 11 were Bruni manufactured.

Detective Superintendent Joe Harrop, head of the serious and organised crime division of GMP, told the Manchester Evening News: “These particular Bruni models pose a very real risk to our communities because they can be easily converted into potentially, viable lethal firearms.

“By taking part in this amnesty, you’re helping us remove dangerous weapons from circulation and preventing them from falling into the wrong hands. Even if these items were bought legally in the past, their possession is now against the law – but this amnesty provides a safe and consequence‑free way to hand them in.

“Our message is simple: if you have one, surrender it. You could be preventing a serious crime or even saving a life.”

A Turkish-made blank firing gun, that had been converted into a lethal weapon, found in a car in Manchester(Image: GMP)

Anyone who wants to hand in one of the guns is being urged wrap them in a bag or put them in a box to avoid alarming members of the public and to hand them in at a police station. No name has to be given to police.

The nationwide amnesty, which runs until February 27, means people who hand in the specified models – unmodified – won’t face criminal action.

The models are:

8mm PAK Bruni BBM Model 92 blank firing self-loading pistol8mm PAK Bruni BBM New Police blank firing self-loading pistol8mm PAK Bruni BBM Model 96 blank firing self-loading pistol8mm PAK Bruni BBM Model ‘GAP’ blank firing self-loading pistol.380R (9mmK) PAK Bruni BBM ME Ranger single action blank firing revolver.

Other makes of blank firing guns will also be accepted, however. The Turkish brands outlawed last years are Ekol, Retay, Ceonic and Blow blank firers. Importers and retailers have been informed and instructed to cease trading in the named blank firers.

Anyone with information about the use of criminal firearms is being urged to contact GMP via 101 or its website and LiveChat service, or 999 if the threat is immediate. Alternatively, you can provide information anonymously through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.