'Lethal' Bedfordshire imitation firearm converters jailed

Two men who modified imitation firearms to make them capable of firing lethal shots have been jailed.

Matthew Harwozinski, 29, bought blank-firing handguns and blank ammunition rounds from the Czech Republic.

They were then made live by Ricky Garner, 48, and have since been linked to a number of shootings across the UK.

Both men admitted firearms offences at Luton Crown Court. Harwozinski was given a life sentence while Garner was jailed for 20 years and three months.

The former was ordered to serve a minimum of 11 years and eight months during sentencing on Friday.

The court heard more than 80 weapons and 1,800 rounds of ammunition were bought under a false name by Harwozinski, of Mareth Road, Bedfordshire, between May 2017 and January 2018.

Garner, of Abbey Fields, Elstow, Bedfordshire, then modified the weapons in order to fire lethal shots, some being fully automatic and able to fire eight bullets per second. Police said the converted weapons were capable of firing lethal shots.

Weapons were then sold for between £1,500 and £2,000, estimates suggest, with buyers having to return to the pair for their unique ammunition.

Officers found some weapons at an address in Bedford in January where Harwozinski was observed and later that month he and Garner were seen going into a DIY store together to buy a soldering iron.

A number of hours later police searched two properties in Abbey Fields and found weapons, later linking Harwozinski to the purchases through an email on his iPad.

Meanwhile, officers found a metal work factory in the shed owned by Garner, an engineer at a metal fabricator factory, capable of converting the firearms and making ammunition.

The weapons were linked to a shooting at a McDonald's in Luton in October when no-one was injured.

But bullets matching those supplied by the pair were found at the scene of a shooting in Romford, London, in circumstances amounting to attempted murder.

A number of weapons have been recovered in London and the West Midlands.

Harwozinski admitted importing and converting firearms, manufacturing ammunition and possessing firearms with intent to enable others to endanger life.

Garner, meanwhile, pleaded guilty to converting the weapons, manufacturing ammunition and possessing ammunition without a firearms certificate.