Dean Garforth, aged 31, has been jailed for nineteen-and-a-half years after facing charges of conspiracy to supply cocaine, conspiracy to supply cannabis and conspiracy to supply weapons and ammunition. In October 2020, police pursued and searched a van after it failed to stop for officers in Widnes, Cheshire. A phone linked to Garforth was recovered and messages sent using the criminal messaging network, EncroChat, revealed he had been organising the supply of drugs, firearms and ammunition in North West England. Garforth fled to Spain but was extradited to the UK in May last year. Following sentencing, a police spokesperson said that phone messages revealed that Garforth had discussed where his organised crime group had hidden weapons including semi-automatic assault rifles and pistols.

Police officers in Barrow, Cumbria recovered a BB gun after a member of the public reported seeing a man with a pistol on a social media live stream. Click on media link to read full report.

Kamil Glowacki, aged 31, has been jailed for three years after admitting possessing an imitation firearm with an intention to cause fear of violence and assault by beating. In November 2023, after his wife told him he must stop drinking or move out of their home in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, Glowacki held an unloaded air pistol to her head and pulled the trigger, verbally abusing her as he did so. When he was arrested the following day, he said he could not remember the incident. The court heard that the couple’s relationship had “become marred” by Glowacki’s drinking and that he taken money from his wife’s business, leaving her with a debt of £17,000. He also stole items from the family, including children’s laptops, to raise money for alcohol and drugs. The judge handed him a ten-year restraining order to keep him away from his wife.

It has emerged that a peregrine, found injured on a school playing field in Doncaster, South Yorkshire in December 2023, had suffered shotgun injuries. The bird had two pellets lodged in its leg and a dislocated coracoid bone, preventing it from flying. Following rehabilitative care, it was released back into the wild.

Three men in a vehicle approached a man on a street in South Killingholme, Lincolnshire, before one of them reportedly threatened him with a shotgun. One man has since been charged with possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.

Following a disturbance in Stockport, Greater Manchester, police officers arrested an intoxicated man at the scene for breach of bail. After a search revealed a flick knife, three throwing knives, a homemade spring-loaded viable firearm, live ammunition and a bag of metal pellets and used ammunition, he was further arrested for possession of offensive weapons, possession of a bladed article in a public place, possession of a firearm and aggravated burglary.

Richard Bowser, aged 46, has been jailed for nineteen years, with four years on extended licence, after being found guilty of wounding with intent and two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life. In July 2023, a fight broke out at a pub near Reeth, North Yorkshire after Bowser’s bank card was declined. Bowser was locked out of the pub after hitting staff and customers but managed to shoot at a man through a locked door, hitting him twice in the chest and once in the arm. The court heard that Bowser was carrying firearms because of a “developing feud” with opponents.

Zain Mirza, 21, Ayaanle Ali Adan, 20, Mahad Gouled, 22, and Chibiuke Ohanweh, 21, have each been jailed for life, with a minimum term of 38 years, after being convicted of two counts of murder and two of attempted murder. In October 2022, Adan, Gouled and Ohanweh each armed themselves with a gun and forced their way into a house in Ilford, East London occupied by four men. Two of the occupants died after being repeatedly stabbed and shot, a third survived after being shot in the head, while the fourth escaped unharmed after fleeing from the back of the property. A total of 41 shots were fired during the onslaught. The court heard that Mirza facilitated the revenge attack, with at least one of the victims being linked to his brother’s murder.

Armed police were deployed following an altercation between two men in Bishport, Bristol, during which one man reportedly threatened the other with an air gun. One man was arrested on suspicion of possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, while a second man was detained for affray and threats to damage or destroy property.

Armed police responded after a shopper found a firearm in the grounds of a supermarket in Tunstall, Staffordshire. The weapon was later confirmed to be an imitation gun.