Watch the moment police seize nine blank-firing pistols as West Midlands man is jailed over plans to make lethal weapons
Footage shows the moment police uncovered a hoard of nine ready-to-be-converted blank-firing pistols in Birmingham.
West Midlands Police has released video footage of the moment officers uncovered a stash of Turkish-manufactured 'top-venting' blank firing (TVBF) pistols in Birmingham.
Banaras Malang, aged 33, of Wandle Grove, Tysley, has been jailed for eight years for his plans to convert the weapons into live-firing firearms.
The Turkish-made top-venting guns were declared prohibited items by the National Crime Agency in February 2025, after investigations revealed that models from four Turkish manufacturers were 'readily convertible' into live-firing weapons.
The footage shows police investigators handling the illegal weapons, which included equipment used to maintain the weapons and ammunition casings.
West Midlands Police said that the investigation into Malang began when it received information that specialist equipment used to manufacture ammunition was ordered and delivered to an address in Erdington.
The orders were made using a bank card and the address of a vulnerable man whom Malang had taken advantage of.
As well as the weapons and equipment that is used to make ammunition, investigators also discovered specialist machinery that would allow Malang to convert the TVBFs, so that they could fire live ammunition.
Detective Inspector Amar Patel from the Regional Organised Crime Unit for the West Midlands said: "Malang was clearly intent on converting these weapons so that they could become lethal firearms, and they would undoubtedly have gone on to be used to commit crime, causing untold fear and potential fatality.
"He went to great lengths to cover his tracks using false names, addresses and exploited a vulnerable man to pay for some of the goods.
"We have taken nine weapons off the streets, and Malang is now behind bars."
Since 2021, UK law enforcement has recovered more than 800 weapons which have been linked to crime, with converted blank-firers having been used in at least four killings in the country in four years.
Malang was jailed for eight years for possession of firearms at Birmingham Crown Court on December 4.
