Amnesty for Turkish Top-Venting Blank Fire weapons in Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire Police are supporting a national amnesty to remove readily convertible weapons from criminal availability.
This follows an announcement by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) that Top-Venting Blank Fire (TVBF) weapons by Turkish manufacturers are now considered to be readily convertible into lethal barrelled weapons and are therefore illegal to possess.
Blow, Ceonic ISSC, Ekol and Retay are the TVBF models affected.
Individuals and retailers in possession of these specific models can hand them in at any police station without facing criminal proceedings during the amnesty period, which runs until February 28.
The national amnesty, dubbed Operation Pivot, aims to remove readily convertible weapons from criminal availability to protect our communities while reducing the likelihood that these firearms will be available for criminal use.
Nobody will have to leave their details when surrendering their TVBF, however, the history of any live firearms handed in will be checked to see if there’s any evidence of it being used in a crime.
Initial Firearms Classification Advisor and National Ballistics Intelligence Service Co-Ordinator, PC Gareth King, said: “The ease at how these types of weapons can be readily converted into lethal barrelled firearms is alarming. These types of weapons regularly change hands and move around the country for criminal use.
“Removing as many as we can from the public domain benefits not only the safety of people within Lincolnshire, but also nationally.”