Mike 8-{> Posted March 29, 2015 Report Share Posted March 29, 2015 Driving home from todays Skirmish I was listening to the radio and the above programme came on. There are some interesting issues raised in the programme which may, in time, have some impact on Airsoft. For example the convicted criminal already serving a sentence at Her Majestey's pleasure who managed to import a number of real Skorpion machine pistols in to the UK using none other than Parcelforce. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05mt3gt May not be available outside the UK PS Wasnt sure which section would be the best to post this in so if any Mods care to relocate it to somewhere more suitable please do... Link to post Share on other sites
Libris Posted March 30, 2015 Report Share Posted March 30, 2015 I heard this as well. Although I've personally had no issues with Parcelforce and airsoft guns (famous last words), apart from the usual trek to the depot to collect it and their use of telepathy to inform you of a failed delivery I wasn't particularly surprised to hear that real guns were being couriered. The secret, if asked, is obviously to accidentally misinform them as to the contents of the package. "Does it contain anything proscribed on this list?" No would appear to be the answer to go with. Link to post Share on other sites
hitmanNo2 Posted March 30, 2015 Report Share Posted March 30, 2015 Haven't listened to it yet. Can anyone TL;DR the Skorpion bit? Link to post Share on other sites
Skarclaw Posted March 31, 2015 Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 Haven't listened to it yet. Can anyone TL;DR the Skorpion bit? Pretty sure this is the same incident: http://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/gangster-facing-jail-for-importing-submachine-guns-from-prison-cell-using-parcelforce-9984689.html tbh it illustrates just how little (relatively, I suppose) guns are in criminal circulation.Pretty much all of the gun seizures in London are *suitcasey* old revolvers that are stashed with 13 year olds and then passed around on a loan basis. The most notable firearms story I can remember is this: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2129611/Two-AK-47s-shotgun-army-rifle-handguns-upmarket-area-Scottish-suburb.html not quite sure what was going on there! Link to post Share on other sites
Leshy Posted March 31, 2015 Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 The guy who opened the first airsoft club in N Ireland, smuggled weapons using airsoft as a cover, he had one of the largest stockpile's ever discovered. The police only found them because he used one of them to introduce his brains to daylight. I'm sure parceforce was on of the many couriers used. Link to post Share on other sites
Skarclaw Posted March 31, 2015 Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 Short of scanning everything what are they to do? A few months back some Austrian went to a "tactical" training course in Wales and bought his (real) Steyr Aug with him through customs. Alarm was raised only when he arrived at the training facility. Can't find a link atm, Link to post Share on other sites
Mike_West Posted March 31, 2015 Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 Short of scanning everything what are they to do? A few months back some Austrian went to a "tactical" training course in Wales and bought his (real) Steyr Aug with him through customs. Alarm was raised only when he arrived at the training facility. Can't find a link atm, ...he what? Anyway, I'm surprised the Skorpions reach so far. Sure, they're pretty popular among criminals over here, but it's one land border with a large part of it popular with tourists, so you could hire mules with large trekking backpacks and they wouldn't stand out. Posting them without raising alarms, well, that's a different story. Link to post Share on other sites
Skarclaw Posted March 31, 2015 Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 ...he what? Anyway, I'm surprised the Skorpions reach so far. Sure, they're pretty popular among criminals over here, but it's one land border with a large part of it popular with tourists, so you could hire mules with large trekking backpacks and they wouldn't stand out. Posting them without raising alarms, well, that's a different story. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2842391/Weapons-enthusiast-visiting-UK-SAS-style-boot-camp-told-border-officials-two-semi-automatic-guns-280-rounds-ammo-tomahawk-car-just-waved-anyway.html Link to post Share on other sites
hitmanNo2 Posted March 31, 2015 Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 I remember watching some Custom/smuggling program a few years ago and they found a load of micro uzis inside a spare tyre. Just makes you wonder what gets through as smuggling is a numbers game. % lost vs % slipped through. Link to post Share on other sites
Cannonfodder80 Posted March 31, 2015 Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 Tbh I'm more surprised more weapons don't make it through, I mean how many of us have slipped a bottle of spirits or two into bags when coming back from the continent? Even a rifle broken down into parts wouldn't be much bigger There are some real clangers in the comments section of that DM article to, here's a classic "Hang on a minute - he presumably had the correct paperwork for the rifle, which is the kind of weapon brought into this country by deer-hunters all the time?" Link to post Share on other sites
hitmanNo2 Posted March 31, 2015 Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 Doesn't all airline luggage get X-rayed? And you'd have to be pretty dim to put restricted weapons in your personal luggage or even a pleb mule's. Link to post Share on other sites
Cannonfodder80 Posted March 31, 2015 Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 For checked luggage iirc it depends on the airport As for hand baggage, you would think so but in January 2002 I had a uni field trip to Cyprus and on the flight back I accidentally left a geology hammer in my hand luggage. Despite the bag being X rayed twice I was still allowed onto the plane without being stopped and it was only the next day when unpacking I found said hammer Link to post Share on other sites
scorch Posted March 31, 2015 Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 I accidentally left a geology hammer in my hand luggage. Link to post Share on other sites
Wild_XIII Posted March 31, 2015 Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 For checked luggage iirc it depends on the airport As for hand baggage, you would think so but in January 2002 I had a uni field trip to Cyprus and on the flight back I accidentally left a geology hammer in my hand luggage. Despite the bag being X rayed twice I was still allowed onto the plane without being stopped and it was only the next day when unpacking I found said hammer Meanwhile I got stopped coming into the UK from Austria because I had a set of torx drivers and headphones in my laptop bag. Having only really gone abroad once since I was an infant, I was bricking it when I was pulled up to the X-Ray machine! I know for next time I go abroad, leave my work tools at home! Link to post Share on other sites
hitmanNo2 Posted March 31, 2015 Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 I got pulled once at an airport as they thought I had a bomb. Four blocks of Mature cheese with a load of cables on top ha ha. Link to post Share on other sites
paranoiddroid Posted March 31, 2015 Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 I have been offered a Glock and a makarov over the years in pubs by people who knew I was interested in guns. The ak I was offered came with the caveat that it was 120 for the gun and 2 mags and he would buy back at any time I wanted rid for 100 but if the mags came back with rounds missing and it wast just due to test fire out in the wilderness it would cost me 500. Basically a rental with his costs covered if anything made the weapon 'hot'. I wasn't sure how much was and how much was true but I have laid eyes on a glock suppressor he had. I kept well away from it beyond hearing stories. Didn't buy anything and stayed well out of the way. Nice guy but I wasn't really going to investigate whether it was or not. Link to post Share on other sites
hitmanNo2 Posted March 31, 2015 Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 £500 for an AK is a steal. Even if semi auto. He was either puling your leg or not a a very good business man. Link to post Share on other sites
paranoiddroid Posted March 31, 2015 Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 I suppose if you are buying them in eastern Europe and smuggling them in they will be cheaper. I remember the glock was allot more than the makarov and modern handguns were allot more than the older guns. Apparantly it was to do with image commanding a premium and big household names being something people prized over conversions from blank firers, old soviet/ww2 gear and chopped up shotguns. He had a few home made things made in the uk apparantly, pictures on his phone with him holding them. A pen gun thing from a maglight body (like the ones they found being made in liverpool recently) and a luty type sub machine gun. I just kept my mouth shut nodded and didn't rock the boat. There was allot in that bar going on. Casual drug deals and discussion of the same. I'm. Not 100% sure how much was hype and image but.I know some of it was legit. Link to post Share on other sites
jal3 Posted April 1, 2015 Report Share Posted April 1, 2015 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2842391/Weapons-enthusiast-visiting-UK-SAS-style-boot-camp-told-border-officials-two-semi-automatic-guns-280-rounds-ammo-tomahawk-car-just-waved-anyway.html There's something frightening about getting punished for the governments incompetence. Link to post Share on other sites
Liquid_snake Posted April 1, 2015 Report Share Posted April 1, 2015 I was involved in competition shooting for many years back in N.Ireland and it was frightening some of the stuff people own legitimately. I have laid hands and fired amongst many hundreds of firearms ranging from .22 converted AK's and Saiga's to SLR's and even an SAA. NI still remains the only place in the UK to allow handguns due to the need for concealed protection with serving and ex-forces/police. Interestingly rapid fire pistols are still permitted too and are pretty popular in competitive clubs, these were allowed anywhere from 2-5 round bursts when I was involved although things may have changed since. I have had the pleasure of travelling from Belfast to Heathrow and back carrying my competition rifle, its shocking to see the difference in attitudes as Heathrow seems to shut down compared to Belfast's *shrug* and sticker slapped on the case. The ferry security is a total joke as well, in my travels Ive only been stopped once and that was last month after several years of travelling back and forth for shooting matches, having been out of the competitive shooting world for a long time it struck me as being a little late. I also heard the program on Sunday and found it overlooked the role of NI a bit too much, instead focusing on Europe and influence of the eastern bloc Link to post Share on other sites
paranoiddroid Posted April 1, 2015 Report Share Posted April 1, 2015 It really angers me that one can or cannot have a sec1 pistol for target shooting based solely on your address. I am fine with the issuing of carry permits for those who need it in N.I but if the average shooter can be trusted with one for range use there why not in the rest of the uk. Link to post Share on other sites
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