Amnesty held for Turkish-made blank-firing pistols

A four-week firearms amnesty for a specific type of weapon has begun in West Yorkshire.

Police have urged anyone in possession of a Turkish manufactured top-venting blank firer (TVBF) to hand them in.

Anyone found with one of the guns faces a prison sentence of up to 10 years.

However, West Yorkshire Police said that people handing in the weapons before 1 March did not have to give their details and would not face prosecution.

The firearms are the Turkish brands Retay, Ekol, Ceonic and Blow.

The force said the amnesty was being carried out in an effort to prevent the pistols "getting into the wrong hands".

It warned that the guns were linked to at least four homicides in the UK since 2023.

Det Insp Victoria Cruse said: "They may have been acquired perfectly legally, even by people who may have bought them while visiting Turkey on holiday, but tests have proved that they can be readily-converted into viable firearms, which therefore makes them illegal to possess.

"We want as many top-venting blank firers as possible to be handed in and I encourage anyone in possession of one to visit one of our participating police stations to hand them in."

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