3D printer 'gun parts' found in Manchester police raids 
A 3D printer and suspected "homemade"
gun components have been seized during police raids in Manchester. A plastic magazine and trigger, which detectives suspect could be fitted
together to make a firearm, were found in Wythenshawe on Thursday. Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said forensic experts were assessing whether
the parts could make a viable gun.A man has been arrested on suspicion of making gunpowder and remains in
custody.A force spokesman said if the tests showed the parts could make a functioning
weapon it would be the "first ever seizure of this kind in the UK".
Earlier this year in Texas, I saw the world's first
3D printed gun being fired for the first time.The weapon looked more like a toy: It was small, white and made entirely from
plastic. But as the shot rang out, you could feel its deadly force.The blueprints were online for just a few days before the US government
ordered them to be removed.but by then they had been downloaded more than 100,000 times. The genie was
out of the bottle.The man behind the gun Cody Wilson, who describes himself as a
cryptoanarchist, said he wasn't surprised about the seizure in the UK.He told me that over the last few months he has received emails from people
in Europe and the UK who have been printing out components for plastic
firearms.
Det Insp Chris Mossop, of GMP, said: "If what we have
seized is proven to be viable components capable of constructing a genuine
firearm, then it demonstrates that organised crime groups are acquiring
technology that can be bought on the high street to produce the next generation
of weapons. "In theory, the technology essentially allows offenders to produce their own
guns in the privacy of their own home, which they can then supply to the
criminal gangs who are causing such misery in our communities.
"Because they are also plastic and can avoid X-ray detection, it makes them
easy to conceal and smuggle." He added: "If what we have seized today can, as we suspect, be used to make a
genuine firearm then today will be an important milestone in the fight against
this next generation of homemade weapons." The BBC's home affairs correspondent Dominic Casciani said the discovery was
"almost inevitable" because of the relatively few firearms in circulation. "The worst-case-scenario would be a cheap and 100% reliable device that could
be made overnight and then destroyed after just one use, disposing of crucial
evidence to pin to a suspect," he added.Available
guns'
The raid was part of GMP's Operation Challenger, which aims to "dismantle"
organised criminal gangs.
This discovery in Manchester, if proven to be viable, was almost inevitable.
Britain has relatively little gun crime because we have so few firearms in
circulation. We know that organised crime gangs loan firearms to overcome their scarcity -
police ballistics experts can often link one weapon to crimes that occurred far
apart.But if gangs get over that shortage by printing guns, the policing challenges
cannot be under-estimated. The worst-case-scenario would be a cheap and 100%
reliable device that could be made overnight and then destroyed after just one
use, disposing of crucial evidence to pin to a suspect.
So police will be seeking intelligence on who has the capability to make
these guns - not just who wants them.Detectives know they need to get one step ahead and stop these people before
they do anything with the blueprints.
gun components have been seized during police raids in Manchester. A plastic magazine and trigger, which detectives suspect could be fitted
together to make a firearm, were found in Wythenshawe on Thursday. Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said forensic experts were assessing whether
the parts could make a viable gun.A man has been arrested on suspicion of making gunpowder and remains in
custody.A force spokesman said if the tests showed the parts could make a functioning
weapon it would be the "first ever seizure of this kind in the UK".
Earlier this year in Texas, I saw the world's first
3D printed gun being fired for the first time.The weapon looked more like a toy: It was small, white and made entirely from
plastic. But as the shot rang out, you could feel its deadly force.The blueprints were online for just a few days before the US government
ordered them to be removed.but by then they had been downloaded more than 100,000 times. The genie was
out of the bottle.The man behind the gun Cody Wilson, who describes himself as a
cryptoanarchist, said he wasn't surprised about the seizure in the UK.He told me that over the last few months he has received emails from people
in Europe and the UK who have been printing out components for plastic
firearms.
Det Insp Chris Mossop, of GMP, said: "If what we have
seized is proven to be viable components capable of constructing a genuine
firearm, then it demonstrates that organised crime groups are acquiring
technology that can be bought on the high street to produce the next generation
of weapons. "In theory, the technology essentially allows offenders to produce their own
guns in the privacy of their own home, which they can then supply to the
criminal gangs who are causing such misery in our communities.
"Because they are also plastic and can avoid X-ray detection, it makes them
easy to conceal and smuggle." He added: "If what we have seized today can, as we suspect, be used to make a
genuine firearm then today will be an important milestone in the fight against
this next generation of homemade weapons." The BBC's home affairs correspondent Dominic Casciani said the discovery was
"almost inevitable" because of the relatively few firearms in circulation. "The worst-case-scenario would be a cheap and 100% reliable device that could
be made overnight and then destroyed after just one use, disposing of crucial
evidence to pin to a suspect," he added.Available
guns'
The raid was part of GMP's Operation Challenger, which aims to "dismantle"
organised criminal gangs.
This discovery in Manchester, if proven to be viable, was almost inevitable.
Britain has relatively little gun crime because we have so few firearms in
circulation. We know that organised crime gangs loan firearms to overcome their scarcity -
police ballistics experts can often link one weapon to crimes that occurred far
apart.But if gangs get over that shortage by printing guns, the policing challenges
cannot be under-estimated. The worst-case-scenario would be a cheap and 100%
reliable device that could be made overnight and then destroyed after just one
use, disposing of crucial evidence to pin to a suspect.
So police will be seeking intelligence on who has the capability to make
these guns - not just who wants them.Detectives know they need to get one step ahead and stop these people before
they do anything with the blueprints.
and £25,000 cash, have been seized in a crackdown.3D printing technology works by building up layer upon layer of material -
typically plastic - to create complex solid objects.
Desktop 3D printers can be bought on the high street for less than £1,000,
but prices can be as high as £10,000. The world's first gun made with 3D printer technology was successfully fired
in the US in
May. The group that created the firearm, Defense Distributed, said it planned to
make the blueprints available online.Defense Distributed is headed by Cody Wilson, a 25-year-old law student at
the University of Texas, who defended making the design available by saying:
"I'm seeing a world where technology says you can pretty much be able to have
whatever you want.
"It's not up to the political players anymore."
At the time, Europe's law enforcement agency Europol said it feared criminals
would follow suit as the technology became cheaper and more user friendly.
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