Seven arrested in gun raids
Feb 11 2003
A Glock machine pistol, a blank firing gun and live ammunition were found by armed police during dawn raids at two city homes today.
Police teams stormed the houses in Sutton Coldfield and Handsworth, Birmingham at 7am.
Six people - five men and a woman aged between 16 and 24 - were arrested at one address while a middle-aged man was arrested at the second property.
The operation was a result of information gathered by officers involved in a crack-down on gun crime across the city - although a force spokesman said today's raids were not linked to the murders of New Year partygoers Charlene Ellis and Letisha Shakespeare, in Aston.
The first home raided this morning was in Barnsbury Avenue, Wylde Green, Sutton Coldfield, where officers, executing a search warrant under the Firearms Act, recovered the Glock machine pistol and ten rounds of live 9mm ammunition.
Six people were arrested at that address on suspicion of firearms offences and were due to be questioned later today.
Soon afterwards, a second raid was carried out at an address in Wellington Road, Handsworth, where a blank firing pistol was recovered.
A 51-year-old man was arrested there and is in custody awaiting The tioning by officer.
Police said both warrants were executed as a result of intelligence gathering by officers.
A spokesman said: "We remain determined to tackle firearms offences and anyone who we suspect may be involved in such activity can expect to attract our closest attention."
Police have vowed to crack down on gun crime in the city following the January 2 murders of Charlene, aged 18, and 17-year-old Letisha, in Birch-field Road, Aston.
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