Two men who sold guns which were linked to shootings are jailed for a total of 31 years 

Two men who converted imitation guns from the Czech Republic into live firearms and sold them to criminal gangs for between £1,500 and £2,000 have been jailed.

Firearms supplied by Matthew Harwozinski, 29, and Ricky Garner, 48, have been linked to multiple shootings – including one at a McDonald’s restaurant in Luton and another in Romford, east London.

The shootings could be considered as attempted murder, Luton Crown Court heard.

James Lachkovic, prosecuting, said Harwozinski imported more than 80 blank-firing handguns and 1,800 rounds of blank ammunition from the Czech Republic under a false name between May 2017 and January 2018.

Firearms supplied to gangs by Matthew Harwozinski, 29, and Ricky Garner, 48 were linked to multiple shootings

Some of the weapons recovered by police who were investigating Matthew Harwozinski, 29, and Ricky Garner

Some of the weapons recovered by police who were investigating Matthew Harwozinski, 29, and Ricky Garner

The weapons were then converted by Garner, an engineer at a metal fabricator factory, so they could fire modified live ammunition, Mr Lachkovic said.

The blank firearms are legal in the Czech Republic, but their possession is illegal in the UK given the way they work, Bedfordshire Police said.

Guns were sold to at least one Luton-based gang, and their weapons and ammunition have also been recovered in London and the West Midlands. 

Harwozinski imported more than 80 blank-firing handguns, two of which are pictured

Harwozinski, who admitted importing and converting firearms, manufacturing ammunition and possessing firearms with intent to enable others to endanger life, was sentenced to life in prison – and must serve a minimum of 11 years and eight months before being considered for release.

Harwozinski also imported more than  1,800 rounds of blank ammunition. Some of it can be seen in the picture

Harwozinski also imported more than 1,800 rounds of blank ammunition. Some of it can be seen in the picture

Garner, who admitted converting the weapons, manufacturing ammunition and possessing ammunition without a firearms certificate, was jailed for 20 years and three months and must serve up to half of this in prison and the rest on licence.

The two men, both of Abbey Fields, Bedfordshire, admitted to the offences at an earlier hearing.

Ballistics testing found the converted weapons were capable of firing lethal shots, and some of them were fully automatic and able to fire around eight bullets per second, police said.

The weapons were linked to a shooting at a McDonald’s in Luton, in October 2017, where a shot was fired into the restaurant’s window.

They were also linked to a separate incident in which shots were fired through two car windows in Luton in December 2017.

No-one was injured in either incident.

Police said bullets found at the scene of a shooting in Romford, east London – in circumstances amounting to attempted murder, match the weapons supplied by Garner and Harwozinski. 

After the weapons were sold, buyers returned to Garner and Harwozinski for their unique ammunition.

Inspector Justin Dipper, from Bedfordshire Police’s Serious and Organised Crime Unit, said after the hearing: ‘The fact these weapons have been repeatedly fired in public shows the huge danger Garner and Harwozinski placed innocent people in, and we are glad the court has responded with such strong sentences for those involved in organised crime.’

The court heard both men had been under pressure due to drug debts. 

The pair were sentenced by Judge Andrew Bright QC at Luton Crown Court on Friday.

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