The carrier of a readily convertible firearm has been locked up – in the first conviction of its kind for Nottinghamshire Police.
Knife crime team officers intercepted a taxi with Alanzo Walker onboard just minutes after he stopped off at a Radford gun store.
Walker, then 18, was in possession of a bag from the shop when he was stopped by police, who suspected that he had a firearm.
The officers’ suspicions were proven to be correct, with the bag containing a top-venting blank firer (TVBF) capable of being converted into a lethal firearm.
Walker was on his way home with the pistol – which had been bought by someone else and given to him – when he was stopped by police on 14 March 2023.
Believing he could be involved in other criminality, knife crime officers searched his home address in Coppice Road, Arnold, where they discovered a tray of ammunition.
A sock containing 30 bullets was found and seized, with police initially arresting Walker for possessing an imitation firearm and possessing ammunition for a firearm without a certificate.
He would later see his charge for the imitation firearm offence be switched to possessing a prohibited firearm, following a law change this February outlawing the pistol he’d been carrying.
That’s after tests by the National Crime Agency (NCA) identified four specific types of TVBFs – including the one Walker had – as having the potential to be readily converted into viable handguns.
A side view of the firearm seized, as well as the tray of ammunition
While Walker was on bail for that, police also linked him to drugs supply offences, so conducted warrants at his home and another address in Pheasant Way, Calverton, on 13 September 2024.
The searches would ultimately uncover multiple deals of cocaine worth an estimated total value of £8,500, as well as substantial quantities of cannabis, worth just under £30,000.
Walker admitted to being concerned in the supply of cannabis and possessing with intent to supply Class A and Class B drugs, during a Nottingham Crown Court appearance on 21 January 2025.
He also pleaded guilty to possessing ammunition for a firearm without a certificate at a separate hearing but denied the charge of possessing a firearm of length less than 30cm – prohibited weapon.
That was until the day of his trial on Wednesday (22 October), when Walker, now 20, decided to change his plea to guilty.
This represented the first conviction of its kind relating to a readily convertible firearm in Nottinghamshire Police’s history, while it is believed to be a first for the region too.
Walker changed his plea following an extensive investigation led by the force’s Criminal Investigations Department and aided by a firearms examiner expert from Durham Constabulary.
He returned to Nottingham Crown Court to be sentenced for all his offences on Friday (24 October).
Walker, of Coppice Road, Arnold, was duly sentenced to a total of three years in a young offenders’ institution.
Detective Inspector Lisa Jones, of Nottinghamshire Police, said:
“It’s important that people realise these types of top-venting blank firing guns are incredibly dangerous and are now illegal in the UK.
“That’s for the simple reason that they have the potential to be readily converted into viable and potentially lethal firearms, should they fall into the wrong hands.
“Bearing this in mind, whatever his reasoning for carrying the pistol that day, Walker’s decision to do so was reckless in the extreme and completely unacceptable.
“The same goes for him storing a tray of ammunition in his house and – of course – deciding to supply drugs in our communities.
“As demonstrated in this instance, our police force will always take firm action should anyone be found or suspected to have a firearm in their possession.
“This conviction actually represented the first of its kind for Nottinghamshire Police, and followed a fantastic investigation led by our Criminal Investigations Department.
“I’d particularly like to praise Detective Constable Charlotte Webster, whose extensive efforts and persistence on this case got this matter to court and helped secure a guilty plea.
“The knife crime team also did a superb job in stopping Walker on the day of this offence, while I’d add thanks to our colleague from Durham Constabulary for his role in this result.”
Alanzo Walker
