Gun crime crushed

Trading standards officer Graeme Levy and DCI John Lyons with imitation firearms

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Greater Manchester Police crushed hundreds of imitation guns this week, following a month long hand-in of fake fire arms across the region.

227 realistic imitation firearms were handed in at police stations across Greater Manchester, while a total of 4,500 fake weapons were removed from the streets through operation Peregrine.

This joint initiative by police and trading standard officers involved them visiting more than 80 premises across Greater Manchester to check that dealers were complying with legislation introduced under the Violent Crime Reduction Act last year. The Act dictates that it is an offence to sell, manufacture or import any realistic imitation or replica firearms.
Detective Chief Inspector John Lyons who drove the roller that crushed the fake firearms said: “We and our colleagues in Trading Standards are delighted that this joint operation has resulted in so many realistic imitation firearms being taken out of circulation. We are determined to continue working together to ensure that guns – whether real or not – do not fall into the wrong hands and that dealers continue to operate within the law.”

The destroyed guns will be recycled and the proceeds donated to charity to help fund projects in war-torn communities around the world.

Reports of people carrying fake guns can lead to police firearms units being called as officers are trained to treat all sightings as the real thing as it is almost impossible to tell the difference between replica and real firearms.

People who currently own imitation firearms, air weapons and ball-bearing guns can still hand them in to their local police station to prevent them falling into criminal hands.