A man who operated a workshop from his home in the West Midlands, converting blank-firing pistols into lethal firearms, has been sentenced to five years in prison. Alireza Nowbakht, 50 years old, was arrested after officers from the National Crime Agency’s (NCA) Armed Operations Unit conducted a raid at his property on Mallin Street, Smethwick, on December 22, 2022.
During the raid, NCA officers discovered a makeshift workshop in an upstairs bedroom, equipped with machining tools used to convert the blank firing pistols into functioning firearms. Additionally, they found a viable weapon, live rounds of ammunition, and ammunition casings. Nowbakht had purchased seven blank firing pistols online from a legitimate supplier and had them delivered to a nearby address. NCA officers had been surveilling him and witnessed him picking up the weapons and bringing them to his home.
