Southbank University student jailed for making gun with 3D printer
A student has become the first person in the UK to be jailed for making a gun with a 3D printer.
Tendai Muswere, 26, pictured, a Southbank University student, was jailed for three years after pleading guilty to two counts of manufacturing a prohibited firearm and two counts of possessing a prohibited firearm.
Muswere, who lives in Pimlico, claimed the firearms were props for a sci-fi film he was making for a university project.
He added that he had found the ammunition rounds in a park.
Police had searched Muswere’s home address on two separate occasions for his links to cannabis cultivation.
They found two 3D printers that were in the process of printing a barrel of a revolver and numerous components for making Washbear and Reprringer firearms.
On the second occasion Muswere threw an incomplete and melted 3D printed cylinder for a Reprringer pepper-box handgun out of the kitchen window as police forced their way inside.
Firearm experts found that the only parts missing for many of Muswere’s 3D firearms to work and become lethal weapons were the steel tube sleevings needed to cover the handguns.
However, evidence found Muswere had repeatedly searched for these on the
internet.
Claire Holder, from the CPS, said: “Muswere claimed that the firearms found in his flat were made for a university film project and were incapable of firing deadly shots.
“However, he was using 3D designs found on the internet which were specifically for the making of live firearms.
“Evidence also showed that he had made repeated attempts to print the weapons, which we believe showed that he was trying to perfect a workable firearm.
“It is illegal to manufacture or possess prohibited weapons without a licence.
This was the first prosecution of its kind in the UK and we hope it serves as a warning to anyone who is considering possessing and manufacturing firearms.”
Detective sergeant Jonathan Roberts 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.”
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