Gun used in more shootings than any other
A GUN seized by armed police after a shooting in Merseyside has been described as “the most criminally used firearm in Britain”.
The Beretta 9000S self-loading pistol has been used in 19 shootings in the past seven years, lawyers prosecuting a case in Liverpool revealed.
Earlier this year, another court heard the gun was linked to more firearms incidents than any other known weapon in the UK.
The loaded gun was found during a raid by officers investigating an incident in Kirkby in which a gunman fired at a vehicle in a suspected targeted attack.
It was stashed behind boxed-off pipes in a bathroom at the home of 24-year-old Adam Bigley. There is no evidence the weapon was used in the Kirkby shooting.
Bigley admitted possession of a prohibited firearm and ammunition without a firearm certificate and was jailed for six years and nine months on Thursday. His DNA, along with that of at least three others, was found on the safety catch of the weapon.
Andrew Alty, defending, cautioned that Bigley was being sentenced for his possession of the gun and not for its historical use. “He only had possession of it for one day,” he said.
Judge Norman Wright told Bigley: “The conclusion I draw ... is you were someone who was highly trusted by the owners or principal users of this firearm; that is why it was given to you.”