Tendai Muswere, a 26-year-old student living in London, has pleaded guilty to manufacturing a gun using a 3D printer. He is the first person in the UK to be convicted of such a charge.
The 3D printed weapon is capable of firing a lethal shot, yet he claimed he was not aware that the 3D print was capable of firing.
Acting DS Jonathan Roberts, who led the investigation, said: “Muswere claimed that he was printing the firearms for a ‘dystopian’ university film project but he has not explained why he included the component parts necessary to make a lethal barrelled weapon. We know that Muswere was planning to line the printed firearms with steel tubes in order to make a barrel capable of firing.”
Police entered Muswere’s home in central London in October 2017 using a drug warrant. This is when they first found 3D printed parts which could be used to create a gun. In 2018, police searched Muswere’s house again and found more 3D printed gun parts.
During a police search, they also found cannabis plants and evidence of cannabis cultivation. The police searched Muswere’s internet browsing history and found that he had been watching videos about 3D printing a gun capable of firing live ammunition.
Manufactured Weapons at Home
The guns Muswere manufactured in his apartment were designs specifically designed for 3D printing: the “Washbear revolver as well as a so-called Hexen Pepper-box handgun,” according to Telegraph. He had even replaced the firing pin of one of the weapons with a more durable copper component and was searching for a replacement metal barrel on Amazon, which led police to believe that he intended to manufacture a lethal firearm.
“This conviction, which I believe is the first of its kind relating to the use of a 3D printer to produce a firearm, has prevented a viable gun from getting into the hand of criminals and is an excellent example of great partnership working between detectives, neighborhood police and our forensic colleagues,” adds DS Roberts.
Muswere will be sentenced in August 2019.
Source: The Guardian, Telegraph
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