Damon Denham, 36, Chad Blackwell, 34, and Daniel Boyd, 42, have been jailed for thirteen years and one month, eleven years and three months, and eight years and three months, respectively, after admitting to conspiracy to sell or transfer prohibited arms and ammunition. In October 2023, police officers discovered eighteen converted pistols at Boyd’s flat in Datchet, Berkshire, with a further 56 weapons found at a garage in Windsor. The court heard that the men used the flat as a workshop where deactivated guns were converted to fire live ammunition before being sold on the black market. All three men were part of a telephone group chat used to arrange delivery of the guns to buyers and one such gun, recovered by police after being used to shoot a teenager in London, had Boyd’s DNA on it. The judge described Denham as playing a “significant” role in the operation, keeping financial records for the gang, but said it was unclear which of the trio actually reactivated the weapons. Boyd and Blackwell claimed to have become involved in the illegal arms trade in order to settle drug debts.

Police officers carrying out raids at properties in Stechford, Winson Green and West Bromwich, West Midlands recovered a machine gun, a revolver and three blank-firing guns. A man has since been charged with five counts of possession of a firearm.

After police officers search two properties in Newport, South Wales, four men were arrested on suspicion of owning an illegal firearm and possession of Class A drugs with intent to supply. Click on media link to read full report.

Zahid Asghar, aged 42, and Kuda Nhekede, 45, have been jailed for fifteen years, four months and nine years, nine months, respectively, after pleading guilty to conspiring to supply Class A drugs and possession of firearms and ammunition. After the criminal messaging network, EncroChat, was decrypted in 2020, messages between the two men revealed they had used it to arrange wholesale drug dealing and the supply of firearms and ammunition in Luton, Bedfordshire. In some of the messages, the pair discussed shortening the barrel of a shotgun to make it easier to conceal when selling on to other criminals. Following sentencing, a police spokesperson said, “Ashgar and Nhedeke’s intentions were plain and simple; they were going to profit from illegal activity regardless of who may come into harm as a result. We welcome their sentence today as another successful result in our efforts to tackle serious and organised crime. In the same way there is no smoke without fire, there is no drugs trade without the presence of violence and exploitation. This is not a victimless crime. Firearms and other dangerous weapons are commonly encountered amongst drug dealers, while vulnerable people are used to support their operations.”

Tyler Whisken, aged 31, has been jailed for three years after pleading guilty to drug offences and possessing a prohibited weapon, criminal property and a shotgun without a certificate. In November 2023, police officers raided Whisken’s home in Thetford, Norfolk and recovered drugs and other criminal property worth more than £30,000. A Taser was found on a bedside table and a double-barrelled shotgun with two shotgun cartridges was seized from the basement.

A man died after being shot while walking his dog on a remote track in Pitilie , Perth and Kinross. His death was initially treated as non-suspicious and medical-related, and it was only after an examination four days later that injuries “consistent with being fatally shot” were discovered. A police spokesperson later confirmed that evidence may have been lost because of the delay in establishing the cause of death.

The occupants of a house in Liverpool, Merseyside are being supported by police officers after an unknown assailant shot at their home. No one was injured but a window and ceiling were damaged. Detectives believe the incident was a case of mistaken identity. 

Specialist police officers, working to disrupt a drug network in Essex, searched several properties and recovered firearms, drugs and high-value clothing. Two viable handguns, rounds of ammunition, drugs and cash were recovered from one address in Stratford, East London. Of the five people subsequently arrested, one man has since been charged with conspiracy to supply crack cocaine and heroin, two counts of possession of a firearm, possession of ammunition, possession with intent to supply cannabis, possession with intent to supply crack cocaine and possession of criminal property.

After a cat was shot with an air weapon in Kings Langley, Hertfordshire, she underwent surgery to remove a pellet lodged in her abdomen. Police have appealed for information.

Georgo Asllani, aged 59, has been jailed for thirteen years after being convicted of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and possession of a firearm. In June 2022, Asllani fired a handgun twice at a man in Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire. One bullet lodged in the man’s hand, while another went right through. The two men then began fighting before the victim's colleagues helped restrain Asllani. The court heard that Asllani had previously been married to the victim's aunt, a dispute arising after the relationship ended in acrimony. The injured man told the jury that he suffers flashbacks, needed multiple surgeries and has been unable to work.