An armourer who built a 3D printed sub-machine gun and sent it through the post has been jailed for 13 years and eight months, following a National Crime Agency investigation.
Luke Fortune was jailed today (Friday 6 Nov) at Bristol Crown Court, after he admitted a range of firearms offences.
The unemployed 23-year-old converted firearms at his home in Mapstone Rise, Longwell Green, Bristol, before selling them at a profit to other criminals.
He bought a range of tools and equipment to turn the firearms into lethal weapons and worked from the garage of his family home.
NCA officers arrested Fortune in July 2024 in relation to the purchase of 35 top-venting blank firearms (TVBF), three antique firearms and more than 1,000 bullets, and the manufacture of a 3D printed sub-machine gun.
He was arrested again while on bail in January 2026 after two handguns – a Glock type pistol and a revolver – were found hidden in a bush in Longwell Green, by Avon and Somerset Police officers.
Digital and financial evidence showed that he was in close contact with another firearms offender – Gerard Dagnall, 33, of Norris Green, Liverpool.
Dagnall tried to smuggle eight handguns from Belgium into the UK.
After a separate NCA investigation, he was sentenced in November 2024 to eight years and three months in prison.
Conversations between Fortune and Dagnall showed that Fortune was supposed to receive some of the guns Dagnall had collected abroad, and that Fortune was brokering deals for Dagnall to sell guns to other criminals.
Fortune sent Dagnall a 3D printed FGC9 sub-machine gun through the post and sent him a video of him test firing it in a wood.
Dagnall replied by sending Fortune a photograph of the package next to his passport: “I can’t believe you sent me a machine gun through the post.”
Online conversations between the duo showed they planned to travel to Thailand together to smuggle firearms back to the UK before attempting to bring over more from Belgium.
When NCA officers raided Fortune’s home they discovered numerous blank bullets, cartridges, cases and primers in various states of conversion.
Fortune’s bank accounts showed he spent several thousand pounds between 2022 and 2024 on blank firearms.
He previously admitted two counts of firearms possession; two counts of possessing ammunition; one count of converting firearms; one charge of making/manufacturing a firearm; one count of selling/transferring firearms, and one count of conspiracy to import firearms.
NCA senior investigating officer Andy Lawton said:
“Luke Fortune was a dangerous offender. He did not care about the potential devastation he could have caused if one of these converted guns fell into the wrong hands.
“Firearms crime in the UK is among the lowest in the world and it is vital that is maintained.
“Protecting the public from the threat of firearms is a principal priority for the NCA and partners in policing and Border Force.”
Specialist Prosecutor Nigel James, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said:
“Luke Fortune set up his criminal enterprise building illegal firearms from within his family home. The scale of his offending was deeply troubling and his willingness to put deadly weapons on our streets and in the hands of known criminals showed a blatant disregard for public safety.
"Working closely with the National Crime Agency, prosecutors pieced together a trail of messages, financial records and firearms evidence, demonstrating the full extent of Fortune’s offending, securing these convictions.
"Those who fuel the illegal firearms trade and place communities at risk will be caught and prosecuted."
Around 4,300 TVBFs were surrendered during two amnesties during 2025 and 2026. The NCA and National Police Chiefs’ Council worked in partnership to organise an amnesty for four Turkish made guns in 2025, and this year for five types of Italian-made Bruni blank firers.
6 November 2026
