Sparkbrook teenager jailed for converting blank-firing guns

A teenager from Sparkbrook who converted blank-firing guns into deadly weapons when he was 17 has been jailed for four years and 11 months.

Zain Hussain, now 19, was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on 17 September after pleading guilty to possessing a firearm on the first day of his trial.

Caught digging a hole

Officers from the National Crime Agency had put Hussain under surveillance after intelligence suggested he was buying blank-firing pistols and converting them into guns that could fire live ammunition.

They followed him along the Grand Union Canal in Birmingham and arrested him in a wooded area where he had been digging a hole. Inside it they found three working firearms and ammunition. A large carving knife and ball bearings, which can be used as improvised ammunition, were found nearby, along with a silver cylinder used for pressing bullets.

Forensic tests found his DNA on one of the converted weapons. Messages on his phone showed him discussing guns using coded language and talking about expected profits.

Guns worth 3,000 pounds each

The National Crime Agency said each converted pistol could be sold for up to 3,000 pounds on the criminal market.

Rick Mackenzie, from the agency, said: "Gun crime has a devastating impact on communities in the UK and the NCA will continue to work to suppress the availability of illegal firearms to criminals."

Why converted guns are a concern

Blank-firing guns are designed to make a loud bang without firing a bullet, and are used in film and theatre and for starting races. Some can be illegally altered to fire live rounds. Police and the National Crime Agency say converted weapons have been used in shootings across the country, and they work with the Government to tighten the rules on the sale of such guns.

Report guns anonymously

Anyone with information about illegal firearms can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. Young people can use Fearless, the Crimestoppers youth service, to pass on information online without giving their name.