Luke Fortune, a 23-year-old who converted blank firing guns into lethal weapons and sent a 3D printed sub-machine gun through the post, has been jailed for 13 years and eight months at Bristol Crown Court, according to the National Crime Agency.
Fortune converted firearms in the garage of his family home in Longwell Green, Bristol, and sold them at a profit to other criminals. NCA officers arrested him in July 2024 over the purchase of 35 top-venting blank firearms, three antique firearms and more than 1,000 bullets, and the manufacture of the sub-machine gun. He was arrested again on bail in January 2026 after Avon and Somerset Police found a Glock type pistol and a revolver hidden in a bush in Longwell Green.
Digital and financial evidence linked him to Gerard Dagnall, 33, of Norris Green, Liverpool, who was jailed in November 2024 for eight years and three months after trying to smuggle eight handguns into the UK from Belgium. Fortune sent Dagnall a 3D printed FGC9 sub-machine gun through the post with a video of himself test firing it in a wood, and Dagnall replied with a photograph of the package next to his passport, writing: “I can’t believe you sent me a machine gun through the post.” Messages showed the pair planned to travel to Thailand to smuggle firearms back to the UK before bringing more from Belgium.
Fortune admitted two counts of firearms possession, two of possessing ammunition, one of converting firearms, one of making or manufacturing a firearm, one of selling or transferring firearms and one of conspiracy to import firearms. He received a 40 per cent reduction in sentence for his early guilty plea. His bank accounts showed he spent several thousand pounds on blank firearms between 2022 and 2024.
NCA senior investigating officer Andy Lawton said: “Luke Fortune was a dangerous offender. He did not care about the potential devastation he could have caused if one of these converted guns fell into the wrong hands.
“Firearms crime in the UK is among the lowest in the world and it is vital that is maintained.
“Protecting the public from the threat of firearms is a principal priority for the NCA and partners in policing and Border Force.”
Specialist Prosecutor Nigel James, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Luke Fortune set up his criminal enterprise building illegal firearms from within his family home. The scale of his offending was deeply troubling and his willingness to put deadly weapons on our streets and in the hands of known criminals showed a blatant disregard for public safety.
“Working closely with the National Crime Agency, prosecutors pieced together a trail of messages, financial records and firearms evidence, demonstrating the full extent of Fortune’s offending, securing these convictions.
“Those who fuel the illegal firearms trade and place communities at risk will be caught and prosecuted.”
Around 4,300 top-venting blank firearms were surrendered in two amnesties in 2025 and 2026, organised by the NCA and the National Police Chiefs’ Council. The first covered four Turkish-made models and the second five types of Italian-made Bruni blank firers.
