Hundreds of guns recovered across West Midlands as police continue to tackle major crime
More than 200 guns have been taken off the streets of the West Midlands this year in what police are calling a major success for efforts to tackle serious and organised crime around the region.
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The force said it had seized 210 lethal barrelled firearms since January, which is up 40 per cent from last year’s figure of 150.
The Major Crime Unit’s Proactive (MCUP) team seized a number of the weapons, including a Madsen machine gun which was hidden behind a bath panel at a home in Stechford.
The weapon was seized along with a revolver, ammunition, and tools to convert blank-firing guns into live weapons.
The MCUP also launched dozens of manhunts using a full array of specialist police tactics and arrested 45 suspects in operations tackling murders, shootings, kidnaps, county lines drug dealing and high-risk sex offenders.
The unit has also targeted online child sex offenders and that work has led to 61 arrests, including of people detained after travelling to meet who they thought were children.
The Reactive officers charged more than 40 people with major crimes, including more than 20 who were accused of murder or conspiracy to murder.
The Regional Organised Crime Unit for the West Midlands (ROCUWM) has also been celebrating major successes, working with partners around the wider Midlands region to keep people safe.
Successes from the ROCUWM include a Walsall teenager being arrested in connection with a global cyber online crime group which has been targeting large organisations with ransomware and gaining access to computer networks.
Detective Superintendent Ryan Chambers, head of the Major Crime Unit, said: “We’ve had a hugely successful year working alongside ROCUWM targeting the criminals who pose the biggest threat to the safety of people in the West Midlands.
“The impact of taking 200 guns off the streets of the region in a year can’t be underestimated.
“And we’ve had some long sentences handed out to dangerous individuals who’ve used weapons to try to kill others on the streets of the West Midlands.
“Our teams will continue to work 24/7 to target those involved in guns, drugs, money laundering, exploitation.”
