Gun factory jury hear interviews

The prosecution said 90 replica guns had been bought to be converted

A man accused of turning replica guns into live weapons told police he had no knowledge of firearms, a court heard.

A transcript of some interviews police conducted with Gary Lewis, 38, were read out at Reading Crown Court. He said he was not interested in firearms.

Grant Wilkinson, 34, and Mr Lewis deny turning replica guns into live weapons at an address in Reading, Berkshire.

The prosecution said these were then sold and have since been linked to 51 shootings, including eight murders.

The pair converted 90 replicas into real Mac 10 sub-machine guns in the factory at The Briars in Basingstoke Road, Three Mile Cross, the prosecution says.

Most of the shootings were in the Greater London area, with four in Birmingham and one in Manchester.

The men deny being responsible for a gun factory

The majority of the murders took place in London, dating back to the summer of 2004, the court heard.

The court heard that firearms expert Stephen Nicklin had examined guns and ammunition found at the Three Mile Cross address and also buried at another location, in Wooburn Green, Buckinghamshire.

Mr Nicklin told the court the guns and the components could have been used to manufacture 6,000 live rounds.

He added that all of the parts to reload ammunition were there.

Mr Wilkinson, of no fixed address, and Mr Lewis, of Bourne End, Buckinghamshire, deny charges of conspiracy to convert imitation firearms, conspiracy to sell or transfer firearms and conspiracy to sell or transfer ammunition.

They also deny two counts of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life, two counts of possession of a prohibited weapon and two counts of possession of ammunition with intent to endanger life.

The larger of the two outbuildings contained the workshop

Jurors also heard that Mr Wilkinson used a fake name to buy the 90 guns, worth �55,201, from Sabre Defence Industries in Middlesex.

He told a director of the firm they were needed for a James Bond film.

The court heard how police found evidence of 11 of the guns at the Three Mile Cross address and at Wooburn Green.

Jurors were told 39 other converted guns were recovered from London, Birmingham, Southampton and the West country.

This meant 40 of the original 90 replica guns were unaccounted for and probably already converted into live firing weapons, the prosecution said.

The hearing continues.

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