In the first case of its kind in the UK, two men have been jailed for using a 3D printer to manufacture firearms. With the aid of this 3D printing technology, computer science lecturer Sibusiso Moyo and father-of-three Christopher Gill were producing illegal firearms and selling them to criminals.
When Majeed Rehman, a friend of the two men, was apprehended by Bradford police, the officer found out about this scheme to make and supply weapons to criminal gangs.
According to the West Yorkshire Police, they found the homemade guns alongside bullets and other gun-making equipment in raids at addresses in Bradford and Hull where the weapons were manufactured on a kitchen worktop and in a domestic garage. The weapons, described as a hybrid 3D-printed gun with metal parts, were destined to be used in organised crime.
Officers stopped Bradford man Majeed Rehman, an associate of the pair, in his BMW car on May 17 last year. A search of the vehicle found an 'FGC9' homemade automatic sub-machine gun, magazine, and bullets hidden in a supermarket bag-for-life in the rear footwell of the car.
Further investigations led by the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit (YH ROCU) found more FGC-9 weapons from the accused two men. The police also obtained two 3D printers and other component parts to make the weapons.
They also found a range of other tools and parts, including springs and screws, that could be used to make the guns as instructed in an online manual. The evidence also included videos and pictures of the firearms at various stages of construction. These images were taken on residential premises, which included Moyo's kitchen and garage, as well as inside Gill's home address.
