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University student is first UK person to be jailed for making a GUN with a 3D printer as he is sentenced to three years behind bars despite claiming weapons were props for a sci-fi movie
By DANYAL HUSSAIN FOR MAILONLINE
- Tendai Muswere, 26, printed revolver and handgun at his flat in Pimlico, London
- The student, from Zimbabwe, claimed he would be using them as project props
- He has now been jailed for three years after pleading guilty to making the guns
PUBLISHED: 18:27, 19 September 2019 | UPDATED: 18:27, 19 September 2019
A film student has become the first person in the UK to be jailed for making a gun with a 3D printer.
Tendai Muswere, 26, printed a revolver and a handgun using plastic resin at his flat in Pimlico in October 2017 and later claimed they were just props for a project.
He has been jailed for three years after he pleaded guilty to making the guns, which he said would be used in a film project for his course at London South Bank University.
The Zimbabwean admitted producing a plastic Washbear revolver as well as a so-called Hexen Pepper-box handgun - both specially designed for 3D printing.
Tendai Muswere, 26, outside Southwark Crown Court, printed a revolver and a handgun with a 3D printer and has now been jailed for three years
Police found the plastic pistols after raiding his home based on information that he was growing cannabis in the flat.
Prosecutor Hugh Forgan told an earlier hearing: 'He was at the time, a student.
'The contentious issue, in a nub, is it is all very well saying you were making a film but why did you need a lethal weapon?'
The firing pin on one of the pistols had been replaced with a more durable copper component, Southwark Crown Court heard.
There was also evidence that Muswere had been searching for a replacement metal barrel on Amazon.
Mr Forgan added: 'There is no need for a lethal weapon, why had it been adapted?'
Police had found two 3-D printers that were in the process of printing a barrel of a revolver and components for making Washbear and Reprringer firearms.
On the second occasion, Muswere threw an incomplete and melted 3-D printed cylinder for a Reprringer pepper-box handgun out of the kitchen window as police forced their way inside.
He admitted printing a Washbear revolver and a Hexen Pepper-box handgun using a machine at his flat in Pimlico, south London in October 2017
He made a revolver and a handgun, which he claimed were for props for a university film project
Muswere admitted two counts of manufacturing a prohibited firearm and two counts of possession of a prohibited firearm.
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 3-D 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.'