Further warrants have been executed by officers carrying out disruption activity, targeted at serious organised crime groups, following recent firearms discharges in Sefton, Liverpool and Knowsley.

A firearm warrant was executed last night, Sunday 11 June, in Walton following the recent discovery of a shotgun in a plastic bag at the rear of an alleyway at the rear of a house in Milman Road, Walton.

A 39 year-old man was arrested on suspicion of possession of a firearm and remains in custody where he will be interviewed by detectives today. Component parts of a firearm were also recovered.

Officers from the Local Policing Targeted team also executed five warrants at addresses in the L11 area in a bid to locate known offenders.

A roadside checkpoint was put in place on Stanley Road in Bootle which resulted in a 35 year-old man being arrested for possession of a controlled drug (A&B) and a 17 year-old male and a 19 year-old male being arrested for possession of a Class B controlled drug. A further 10 people were also arrested by patrols across Merseyside in relation to drug possession and supply.

Road users were also given reassurance in relation to the recent firearms discharges, a number of high visibility walkthroughs were carried out at pubs in the south Sefton area and officers patrolled a number of streets around the Toxteth, Anfield, Bootle, Litherland and Knowsley areas. Detective Chief Inspector Andy O’Connor, said: “We are committed to tackling gun crime and disrupting criminal activity on Merseyside. This weekend we have seen a number of warrants executed and people arrested in relation to gun and drug crime.



“We know that gun crime is frequently linked to drug activity and we hope that by disrupting supplies and making arrests we can make a real difference in our communities.

“The activity has also allowed us to engage with members of the public and reassure them over the recent firearms discharges and the extensive work that is going on to find the people responsible and bring them to justice.

“Officers from Matrix disruption, Roads Policing, Dogs and Mounted, have been – and will continue to - work with officers from the local policing areas and detectives to bring pressure on serious organised crime groups who we believe may have access to firearms. We are determined to build up the evidence in relation to recent firearms discharges so we can find and arrest those responsible and take out weapons that are being used in our communities.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank community members who have already come forward with information to help us and I would appeal to any community members who have information which could help us, who haven’t come forward yet, to call us as soon as possible so we can take quick and decisive action and get these criminals off our streets. I would also like to thank those members of our communities who have supported our officers who are carrying out reassurance patrols in the area and have expressed their thanks. Our officers are very much a part of the communities we serve and we understand the fear and disharmony that this kind of criminal activity creates in our communities.”

If you have any information about those involved in gun crime on Merseyside, or think you know where these groups are storing guns, please contact the Merseyside Police gun crime hotline on 0800 230 0600, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.