Underworld armourers get seven years

Two gunsmiths who ran an underworld armoury converting blank firing pistols firearms into live weapons have both been jailed for more than seven years.

Gary Worthington, 45, and Perry Phillips, 56, were part of an organised crime group that operated a gun factory in a house at Dachet, Berkshire, where police found 27 converted replica pistols and ammunition.

Another 56 converted firearms and ammunition were recovered from a garage block off Ash Lane, Windsor, which police say was being used as a storage location.

They were mostly vacuum sealed, with a pot of gun oil and a gun brush, ready for onward distribution.

And a cardboard box, found in the garage, was linked to the purchase of 25 blank-firing pistols purchased by the pair, both of Old Windsor in Berkshire.

When Wortington’s was arrested at his home on 19 October 2023, police seized a mobile phone from him showing contact between himself and a ‘Mr Nobody’.

He was later found to be Paul Lynam, of Waterlooville, Hampshire, who was in February sentenced to 16 years and six months’ imprisonment after admitting money laundering and three firearms offences.

Phillips was arrested two months later on 5 December 2023, and police say his phone also linked them to other members of the organised crime group, three of whom were earlier handed heavy prison sentences.

The converted replica guns and ammunition were distributed to the criminal fraternity across the country via the use of an encrypted chat application.

They were both sentenced to seven years and two months at Reading Crown Court after earlier admitting to assisting the supply of firearms and supplying ammunition.

Detective Superintendent Ben Lee, of South East Regional Organised Crime Unit, said: ‘The sentencing of Worthington and Phillips marks the conclusion to this complex SEROCU investigation launched in September 2023 into an organised crime group. The OCG was converting Turkish-manufactured top venting blank firearms into live weapons on an industrial scale.

‘While thankfully firearms crime in the UK is among the lowest in the world, these weapons can, and do, have lethal consequences and would have undoubtedly been used to commit criminal acts.

‘At the time Worthington and Phillips were purchasing them, these blank firers were legal to own however this is now not the case as Turkish TVBFs have been found to be readily convertible, making them illegal to own under section 5 of the Firearms Act 1968.

‘The roles the pair played – purchasing and transporting weapons and ammunition – formed a pivotal part of the criminal activities of this OCG.

‘This case demonstrates our unwavering efforts to ensure the communities in the south east and beyond are protected from the threat posed by serious and organised crime, including the criminal use of firearms.’