As part of an operation designed to tackle serious and organised crime offences, police officers carried out a warrant at a property in Wolverhampton, West Midlands and recovered ammunition, five firearms, heroin, crack, cannabis and MDNA. One of one of the guns is believed to be viable, another had been converted from a blank-firing weapon, while the others were blank firers.

Firearms officers responded after a man with a gun was seen at a pub in Deal, Kent. After the man was arrested nearby on suspicion of possessing a firearm in a public place, it was found that he had been carrying Airsoft guns, collected from a repair shop. After he admitted possessing an imitation firearm in a public place, the incident was resolved by a community resolution requiring the man to write a letter of apology to those affected.

Terry Coe, aged 37, has been jailed for 32 months after pleading guilty to possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and breach of a suspended sentence. In March 2023, Coe told an associate that he had a gun and grenades to blast police and had set up booby traps at his home in Newcastle, Tyne & Wear. When officers attended the address following a disturbance, Coe, who appeared to be in possession of a revolver, locked himself in his bedroom. Following negotiations, Coe opened the door, still holding the firearm. After he failed to drop the weapon as instructed, an officer fired a baton round at Coe’s thigh. He was treated in hospital for minor injuries and arrested. His weapon was found to be a gas-powered BB gun.

Andrew Rathbone, 25, and Michael Brown, 26, were each jailed for three years, while their co-defendant, 21-year-old Liam Higham, received 30 months, after all three pleaded guilty to conspiring to possess an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. After arguing with a woman at a pub in Kirkby, Merseyside, two of the men opened her car door and pointed an imitation firearm at her while making threats. Following sentencing, a police spokesperson said, “The use of weapons – whether to cause injury or intimidation – will not be tolerated on our streets and we will take action to find the people responsible and bring them to justice.”

James Witham, 41, Niall Barry, 26, Joseph Peers, 29, and Sean Zeisz, 28, have been jailed for minimum terms of 43, 47, 41 and 42 years, respectively, after being found guilty of murder, conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to possess a prohibited weapon and ammunition with intent to endanger life. Following a feud between Barry and another man, Witham forced his way into the man’s home in Liverpool, Merseyside in August 2022 and opened fire with a Skorpion submachine gun. The man was not at home but one of fifteen shots fired killed his girlfriend. The court heard that Barry was the “malign presence” behind the shooting, while Peers drove Witham to the scene and Zeisz had organised and encouraged the attack. The man targeted, said to be associated with an organised crime group, did not cooperate with police after the shooting.

Joshua Igwe, aged 26, has been jailed for five years after being convicted of possession of a stun gun and pleading guilty to assaulting a neighbour to his severe injury and permanent disfigurement. In April 2021, a stun gun disguised as a torch was found at Igwe’s flat in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire. The following month, Igwe and others “stormed” into a neighbour’s flat before Igwe repeatedly struck him on the head, face and body with a baseball bat. The victim suffered a broken tooth, extensive bruising and an eye injury. The blood-stained bat was later found in Igwe’s home.

Kayden Willie, aged 20, has been sentenced to 26 months in a young offenders' Institute and made the subject of a five-year restraining order for possession of an imitation firearm and disclosing a private sexual photograph of a woman by sending it another person. In January 2023, Willie held an imitation gun to a former partner’s head in a car in Leeds, West Yorkshire, telling her that if he couldn’t have her, no one else could. The imitation firearm and blank firing bullets were later recovered from the vehicle. In an impact statement, the victim described continuing “to struggle with every-day life” and said she “doesn't go out anymore and is fearful that she is under constant threat”.

Robert Denison, aged 40, has been jailed for two years and eleven months after pleading guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm without intent, possessing a prohibited weapon, possessing Class B drugs with intent to supply and possessing an offensive weapon in public. In July 2023, after falling out with a friend, Denison went to the man’s home in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire and Tasered him when he answered the door. Denison also hit the man in the leg with a hatchet and Tasered him a second time. The victim suffered an open wound and a leg fracture, requiring surgery. Police officers subsequently discovered the axe, Taser and a large quantity of cannabis at Denison 's home.

A man from Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire has been charged with use of a firearm with intent to resist lawful arrest, assaulting an emergency worker, going equipped to steal, possession of a bladed article, possession of cannabis and failing to provide a sample for Class A drug test. Click on media link to read full report.

During drug raids in Birmingham, West Midlands, police officers seized cannabis, a mobile phone, and an incapacitant spray (Section 5 Firearm). Click on media link to read full report.