When Elle Edwards was brutally gunned down outside a Wallasey pub last Christmas Eve, she became Merseyside's third fatality linked to the Skorpion submachine gun that year.
The Czech-manufactured weapon, capable of unloading 900 rounds a minute and 15 in less than a second, was already responsible for the murders of Sam Rimmer and Ashley Dale in Liverpool when it was used to kill Elle. Lightweight and easily concealable – the "battlefield weaponry" is capable of unleashing indiscriminate carnage by the lightest touch of the trigger.
Approximately 200,000 of the weapons were manufactured between 1963 and 1979 – and the gun saw action in Eastern Europe, Vietnam and Ireland during The Troubles. However, since last year, the gun has become the weapon of choice for organised crime groups (OCGs) across the UK and Merseyside.
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Speaking to the ECHO, the National Crime Agency's deputy director Charles Yates said the criminal use of Skorpions has been seen in the UK for over a decade, but only in low numbers. But since last year, more of the weapons have emerged on UK shores and been used by gangs to carry out the most brutal of executions.
It's unclear how many of the weapons are currently in the hands of criminal groups on Merseyside, but around half a dozen of the guns have been seized by Merseyside Police in the past two years.
Mr Yates told the ECHO: "Illegal firearms are trafficked into the UK from central and eastern Europe, often consolidated in Belgium and the Netherlands before transiting via France, most commonly as a single firearm. They are often concealed in vehicles on Channel ferry and tunnel routes, or sometimes sent whole or in component parts via post/courier labelled as other items.
"UK law enforcement agencies work closely with Border Force to intercept, seize and investigate every attempt to illegally import firearms or component parts. Many firearms smuggled into the UK have been ‘deactivated’ or modified overseas.
"The relative lack of original lethal purpose firearms and compatible ammunition has led to criminals resorting to the use of reactivated firearms or converted "blank firers" and we are proactively engaged with law enforcement, government, and private sector organisations in overseas jurisdictions to mitigate the threat of criminally convertible blank-firing firearms entering the UK."
Once in the UK the weapons are traded by OCGs like other criminal commodities, where criminal networks across the UK have established links. But Mr Yates added unlike drugs, a much smaller number of OCGs engage in smuggling and trading firearms, due to the higher risks and significant prison sentences.
Merseyside crime groups are believed to be at the very forefront of the distribution of firearms. An NCA report in 2020 investigating secret communications on encrypted messaging platform EncroChat about guns found nearly three quarters of crime gangs had links to Liverpool and the North West.
Officers from the NCA's National Firearms Threat Centre found 70% of all links to weapons examined in that operation led to Liverpool, with messages revealing gangs in the city "dominated" the guns and drugs trade outside London. The report said the city's geography, history of serious organised crime and the willingness of gang members to embrace the latest criminal innovations were behind the data.
And regarding the use of Skorpions, Merseyside Police Assistant Chief Constable Mark Kameen told the ECHO earlier this year that "Merseyside criminals seem to either be at the forefront or very close to it around their involvement" in the distribution of the weapon since it became a favourite of the UK's underworld.
ACC Kameen, who led the force's investigation into the murder of schoolgirl Olivia Pratt-Korbel, added the gun has been used in targeted hits across the country in locations including Manchester, Birmingham and London. However, it has been here on Merseyside that the weapon has wreaked the most devastation.
On August 16 last year, Sam Rimmer, 22, was gunned down while standing with friends on Lavrock Bank, Dingle. The dad-to-be was standing with friends when two gunmen on electric bikes drove onto the cul-de-sac and sprayed bullets towards the group.
A resident on the road told the ECHO on the one year anniversary of his death: "There is no thought when these people start firing a gun – it is just total selfishness. That bullet could have gone through a kid's bedroom window. I'm thinking, don't these people have any brains?" To this day, no one has been charged with Sam's murder.
Just five days later, Knowsley Council employee Ashley was shot dead in her own home on Leinster Road, Old Swan in a targeted hit on her boyfriend Lee Harrison. Four men – James Witham, Joseph Peers, Niall Barry and Sean Zeisz – were unanimously convicted of her murder and sentenced to a combined total of 173 years in prison.
Liverpool Crown Court heard how Witham, on orders from Barry and Zeisz, sprayed Ashley's home with 10 bullets from a Skorpion, hitting Ashley with one bullet in the abdomen. A young mum on the road later told the ECHO how she felt disgusted by how close the shooting was after seeing the blue forensics tent just yards from her children.
And in December, beautician Elle, 26, was killed after thug Connor Chapman unleashed a hail of bullets towards rival gang members standing outside the Lighthouse pub. Elle was killed by a bullet that hit her in the head in the botched hit – and drug dealing murderer Chapman was sentenced to at least 48 years in prison.
Wirral has notably had fewer gun discharges than Liverpool, but the Woodchurch/Ford gang feud that culminated in Elle's death demonstrated how easily young men could get their hands on the most deadly weapons. It was also telling that Chapman's brother Lewis was shot by a Skorpion in the months before Elle's murder, showing gunmen on opposite sides of the feud had access to the killing machine.
This was demonstrated further in October this year when John Lewis – an associate of Chapman – was jailed. EncroChat data heard in his case revealed how he brokered deals for deadly firearms including the Skorpion – with one particular sale involving the payment of £16,500 for the submachine gun and a revolver.
Following Chapman's sentencing, ACC Kameen called him a "coward" with "no moral compass". He added: "Who actually does that? Who unleashes a submachine gun into a group of people outside a pub? I think he's despicable."
A common theme regarding the use of Skorpions on Merseyside is the reckless attitude that gangsters take when they indiscriminately pump a dozen or more bullets into crowded or residential areas. While Skorpions have been used to carry out hits in other gang-heavy cities, innocent bystanders are very rarely the victim.
While the lack of training to use the military grade weaponry is one reason for the collateral damage, Merseyside criminals' carefree attitude to gun crime is another. Dr Robert Hesketh, lecturer at the School of Justice Studies at Liverpool John Moores University, told the ECHO: "Gang members may target individuals they believe to be members or associates of rival gangs, but in fact are innocent as maybe the case of Ashley Dale.
"Innocent people may become inadvertent targets if they are in close proximity to individuals or locations associated with rival gangs or criminals – wrong place, wrong time. Gang related violence often occurs in densely populated areas and innocent people can be caught in the crossfire during shootouts or other violent incidents.
"There is also a lack of regard for civilian safety, with some young men prioritising the job – and the adrenalin will be pumping to get in and do the job. This can lead to reckless behaviour that increases the risk of harming innocents. Intentionally targeting innocent people can also be used as a tactic to instil fear and exert control over a community, as part of a gang's overall criminal activities."
Regarding the use of Skorpions, Dr Hesketh added "a demand for firepower sees young men seeking out specific weapons like the Skorpion in order to increase their firepower and fear against rivals".
Senior Merseyside Police figures told the ECHO earlier this year that the body-blow caused to organised crime by the EncroChat hack may have caused "instability" in the region's underworld in the wake of last year's five gun fatalities. The network was infiltrated by Dutch and French police in early 2020, and since then thousands of criminals across Europe have been arrested and prosecuted.
The UK response to the hack, Operation Venetic, has seen more than 200 drug and weapon traffickers arrested in Merseyside alone. And while Merseyside Police said in early 2022 that there was "no evidence of a power vacuum" caused by the unprecedented round up of serious criminals.
However, after the spate of murders senior officers said the underworld may have been destabilised, with many of those targeted by the force sitting at a "mid to high level" on the criminal ladder. Deputy Chief Constable Chris Green told the ECHO "chaotic individuals" were looking to establish themselves against competitors, with criminals looking to step up to fill the gaps left by the arrests by exerting indiscriminate violence.
Dr Hesketh called this a "backfill", but added: "The impact of an operation such as Venetic can be complex, and it is difficult to make generalisations about the direct effects of recruitment of young, inexperienced individuals."
To target the growing threat of weapons like the Skorpion, the NCA and Merseyside Police have been working collaboratively to identify how the weapons have made their way into the UK, before rooting them out on Merseyside. Mr Yates told the ECHO: "We work closely with Merseyside Police, as well as other partners in the UK and internationally to share intelligence relating to the criminal firearms marketplace, including Skorpions.
"This work directly enables operational activity, proactive targeting of organised crime groups, disruption of criminal supply chains in the UK and overseas and removal of firearms from criminal circulation." Despite the growing threat of organised crime and firearms, Merseyside Police was recently recognised in a glowing report from HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) for its work.
Firearms discharges are down to 15 from 49 last year, with none ending in death. Chief Constable Serena Kennedy said after the five murders, which bucked the trend of falling gun violence, the force "renewed its commitment" to tackling serious and organised crime and ramped up disruption activity with the help of investment from the Home Office to support communities affected by gun crime.
A spokesperson for the NCA told the ECHO: "Gun crime in the UK continues to be relatively low compared to mainland Europe and is among the lowest in the world. However, demand for firearms in the criminal market continues.
"Suppressing their availability is therefore a national priority for the NCA and UK law enforcement, we continue to pursue those responsible for criminal firearms activity. The supply and use of illegal firearms have a devastating impact on public safety and undermines the public’s perception of crime and security."
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