A former Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) with a “fixation on weapons” has been jailed for eight years and six months after attempting to manufacture a semi-automatic firearm using a 3D printer in what is believed to be the first conviction of its kind in the UK.
Zoe Watts, 39, of St Helens Avenue, Lincoln, was sentenced at Lincoln Crown Court after being found guilty in June of attempting to make a firearm.
Watts, who served as a Lincolnshire PCSO for more than eight years, was arrested in December last year after armed officers intercepted her car in Lincoln. Simultaneously, police executed a search warrant at her home, uncovering a stockpile of weapons including knives, a crossbow, and two sets of 3D-printed gun components — one of which was only a single part away from being operational.
The investigation began when Lincolnshire Police received intelligence that Watts was purchasing prohibited materials online. Senior officers devised a coordinated operation to arrest her away from the property while armed teams secured and searched her home.
Inside, officers found what they described as an “Aladdin’s cave” of weaponry and equipment. Forensic analysis of her digital devices revealed internet searches about 3D-printed guns, including “Has anybody been killed by a 3D printed gun?” along with research into acquiring further weaponry.
During interview, Watts answered “no comment” to all questions, later claiming in a victim statement that she was making “toys” rather than functioning firearms — a defence rejected by the court.
In addition to her prison sentence, Watts was made subject to a forfeiture and destruction order for all seized weapons and a five-year Serious Crime Prevention Order upon release.
A Lincolnshire Police spokesperson said:
“This case represents the first UK conviction and sentencing for attempting to make a firearm using a 3D printer. Our priority throughout was to protect the public, and the swift, coordinated response of multiple teams ensured that dangerous weapons never made it onto the streets.”
