Teenager who converted blank

A Birmingham teenager who converted blank-firing weapons into firearms when he was 17 has been jailed.

Zain Hussain, now 19, from Sparkbrook, appeared at Birmingham Crown Court after pleading guilty to possessing a firearm and was jailed for four years and 11 months.

Hussain had been under surveillance after intelligence showed he was involved in converting weapons into live-firing guns, which could be sold for up to £3,000 on the criminal market, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said.

Officers followed him along the Grand Union Canal in Birmingham and the defendant was arrested in a wooded area, where he had been digging a hole, in which three firearms and ammunition were found, the NCA said.

A large carving knife and ball bearings, which can be used as improvised ammunition, were also found nearby.

Forensic tests later revealed Hussain's DNA was on one of the weapons, a blank-firing pistol had been converted and matched a weapon purchased just two days earlier, the NCA said.

Investigators said Hussain had been carrying out the conversions in the wooded area and burying equipment when it was not in use.

The agency estimated each converted pistol could be sold for up to £3,000 on the criminal market [NCA]

Hussain's phone was seized following his arrest, and messages recovered from it showing him discussing the sale and progress of weapons.

He referred to "two Lucys" being sold and described three weapons as being at different stages of conversion.

The defendant also discussed his expected profits, saying he would make "10 bags" and describing the enterprise as a "dream", according to the NCA.

He pleaded guilty on what would have been the first day of his trial and was sentenced on Thursday.

Rick Mackenzie, from the NCA, said Hussain's operation was "not particularly sophisticated", but he was still creating viable firearms and offering them for sale to criminals.

He had been "boasting of his enterprise" at the age of 17 and that, had he not been stopped, his criminal activity could have increased, Mackenzie said.

"Gun crime has a devastating impact on communities in the UK," the NCA officers said.

"The NCA will continue to work to suppress the availability of illegal firearms to criminals and bring those involved in their supply to justice."

Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service