Four people who conspired to convert dozens of weapons into deadly firearms inside a Nottingham garage have been jailed.
Blank-firing, antique and obsolete guns were all found to have been adapted into viable firearms by them as part of the illicit operation.
The aim of the conspiracy was to then supply the now-lethal guns to different criminals based across the city and other parts of the country.
Eleven of these firearms – and hundreds of rounds of ammunition – were intercepted by police before they reached their intended targets, however.
An investigation by the East Midlands Special Operations Unit (EMSOU) put a stop to the conspiracy and placed those involved in handcuffs.
Quisar Iqbal was the main conduit between most of the individuals, while Daniel Wren – the main armourer – was responsible, along with Sean Bates and Kerrigan Wright, for turning the imitation firearms into viable guns.
Central to the entire enterprise was a garage at a Bakersfield address, linked to Wren’s grandparents, that was frequently used as a gun conversion workshop.
Two viable firearms – a revolver and a converted pistol – and live ammunition were all found inside the garage when police searched it last year.
An array of evidence also pointed to the garage being visited by each of the conspirators as part of their roles – making it a key location for the gun-converting business.
The weapon-converting operation ran for 10 weeks, from the start of last August.
Business ground to a halt on 9 October, however, when police executed simultaneous warrants, not just at the Bakersfield garage, but at several addresses linked to the co-conspirators too.
Led by intelligence they’d gathered, police moved in to arrest Iqbal, as well as co-conspirators Wren, Bates and Wright, at their respective homes.
Firearms were duly discovered at all the addresses, bar Iqbal’s.
The warrants also implicated a fifth man – Trevell Johnson – after Wren’s phone was seized and found to contain a stream of messages from Johnson about the sale and conversion of firearms.
Evidence then came to light that another man – Caleb Masiyina – had carried a gun connected to the illegal operation – taking the conspiracy’s final tally up to six people.
While 11 firearms were ultimately seized as part of the EMSOU investigation, there was evidence that showed at least a further 24 had previously been supplied on top of that.
Among the guns recovered were top-venting blank firer (TVBF) pistols, which have the potential to be converted into viable handguns, so were made illegal in the UK at the start of 2025.
Wren pleaded guilty to separate charges of conspiring to possess a firearm with intent to endanger life and conspiring to convert an imitation firearm into a firearm.
Iqbal, Bates, Johnson, Wright and Masiyina all initially denied the array of offences against them, which prompted the need for a lengthy trial at Nottingham Crown Court.
Masiyina belatedly admitted to possessing a firearm less than 30 cm long midway through the trial, however, while Bates pleaded guilty to conspiring to convert an imitation firearm into a firearm and being concerned in the supply of cocaine.
Following the conclusion of the trial, Iqbal, Johnson and Wright were all found guilty by a jury on 18 June of conspiring to convert an imitation firearm into a firearm.
Iqbal, Wren, Bates and Wright returned to Nottingham Crown Court to be sentenced on Tuesday (1 September), where they received a combined 17-and-a-half years behind bars.
- Daniel Wren, 27, of Broad Oak Close, St Ann’s, received a six-year prison sentence
- Quisar Iqbal, 33, of Woodborough Road, St Ann’s, was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison
- Sean Bates, 36, of Nether Pasture, Netherfield, was jailed for four-and-a-half years
- Kerrigan Wright, 35, of Mays Avenue, Bakersfield, was sentenced to two years in prison
The remaining two conspirators – Johnson, 25, of Shakespeare Street, Nottingham, and Masiyina, 25, of HMP Humber – will both be sentenced at the same court on Friday (4 September).
Superintendent Tom Allard, of the East Midlands Special Operations Unit, said:
“It really can’t be overstated just how serious these offences were, with the actions of these men putting communities at genuine risk of harm.
“They kept and conspired to supply at least 35 different handguns between them – many of which they’d actually converted into deadly firearms themselves.
“Some of the weapons seized were types of top-venting blank firer (TVBF) pistols that had been adapted and which are now illegal in the UK, specifically for this reason.
“The firearms were all adapted at a gun conversion workshop based in a garage in Bakersfield, with the intention that they’d then be sold on for cash.
“Following a lengthy investigation led by EMSOU, our officers were able to ensure this business ground to a halt, while seizing 11 viable guns for good measure.
“This fantastic result was only made possible thanks to some great collaborative work with our colleagues at Nottinghamshire Police, West Yorkshire Police and the Metropolitan Police.
“It is important people see that these types of offences have severe consequences, so it was pleasing to see those involved in this conspiracy receive prison time.”
Detective Superintendent Chris Sullivan, of Nottinghamshire Police, added:
“Any viable firearm taken out of harm’s way from our communities is undoubtedly a good thing.
“Staff and officers across Nottinghamshire Police worked closely with our EMSOU colleagues to achieve this result and I would like to recognise their efforts and contribution to this operation.
“While gun crime in Nottinghamshire thankfully remains very rare, we will never be complacent about this, with this case serving as an example of the lengths criminals can go to in order to break the law.
“Some Italian- and Turkish-made top-venting blank firer brands are now banned in the UK because of their potential to be converted into viable weapons.
“The dangers associated with possessing and converting weapons into potentially deadly firearms are clear for all to see, so we certainly welcome the prison sentences issued to those involved in this conspiracy.”
