Doorbell CCTV caught a shocking street shooting where a man opened fire with a gun provided by two underworld arms dealers now jailed for life.
Several shots ring out in the footage released by Bedfordshire Police, as a group of men are heard screaming at each other in the middle of a residential street in Luton.
The gun used in the unsolved December 2017 shooting was supplied by Mathew Harwozinski, 29, who imported a large number of replica pistols and blank ammunition from the Czech Republic.
With the help of Ricky Garner, 48, he modified weapons so they could fire lethal rounds.
The guns and live ammunition were then sold on to be used in a number of gangland shootings – with at least one involved in an attempted murder.
Estimates suggest the weaponry was sold for between £1,500 and £2,000, with buyers having to return to the pair for their unique ammunition.
Garner and Harwozinski pleaded guilty to their role in importing and modifying the weapons, some of which could fire around eight bullets per second.
Luton Crown Court heard how between May 2017 and January of this year, Harwozinski used a false name to buy blank firing handguns and more than 1,000 rounds of blank ammunition.
The weapons were then converted by Garner, an engineer at a metal fabricator factory, so they could fire modified live ammunition.
The duo sold weapons to at least one gang based in Luton, Bedforshire, while their guns and ammunition have also been recovered in London and the West Midlands.
Harwozinski, from Bedford was given a life sentence at Luton Crown Court on Friday and will serve a minimum term of 11 years and eight months, minus the time he has already spent in custody.
Garner, from Elstow, Bedfordshire, will serve at least half his sentence of 20 years and three months before he is considered for release on licence.
Sentencing the pair, Judge Andrew Bright QC said: "The offences to which each of you have pleaded guilty are of the utmost seriousness and this court has a duty to the public to ensure the sentence placed upon you reflects the incalculable danger your actions have caused to the safety of the public and those in the criminal underworld."
Ballistics testing found the converted weapons were more than capable of firing lethal shots.
A number of the weapons were fully automatic and able to fire around eight bullets per second.
The converted weapons have been discharged in public on a number of occasions, endangering the life of innocent people, and on at least one occasion their use caused injury in circumstances amounting to attempted murder.
The weapons were used in at least three shootings in Luton last year, including two on the same night last December where bullets caused substantial damage to a McDonald’s and a number of vehicles.
Since the pair were arrested in January, there have been further incidents in the Metropolitan Police area and in Bedfordshire that have involved pistols and ammunition supplied by them.
The operation was led by Bedfordshire Police’s Serious & Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), assisted by the Metropolitan Police (Op Trident), National Crime Agency (NCA) and the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU).
Detective Inspector Justin Dipper, from Bedfordshire Police’s SOCU, said: "A combination of good intelligence, proactive policing and sheer persistence on behalf of our officers has taken dozens of lethal weapons off the streets and stopped any further supply into Bedfordshire.
"The fact these weapons have been repeatedly fired in public shows the huge danger Garner and Harwozinski placed innocent people in, and we are glad the court has responded with such strong sentences for those involved in organised crime.
"Through this investigation, SOCU has demonstrated its ability to work with, and lead, other agencies in pursuit of dangerous criminals.
"The fact Bedfordshire’s SOCU has been able to mount such a proactive and wide ranging operation is testament to the dedication and talent we have in the team."
Garner pleaded guilty to converting the weapons, manufacturing ammunition and possessing ammunition without a firearms certificate.
Harwozinski pleaded guilty to importing and converting firearms, manufacturing ammunition and possessing firearms with intent to enable others to endanger life.
How police caught Harwozinski and Garner
Intelligence linked Garner to some of the defendants and the weapons used in the Bedford gang shootings in July 2016, for which the total sentence for those involved has now reached 185 years imprisonment.
The force’s Operation Kruse investigation into these shootings then linked Garner and Harwozinski.
Slowly, Bedfordshire Police officers and partners from the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU) built up a network of their associates, which included gang members based in Luton and London as well as criminals linked to drugs supply in Bedford.
In January a number of converted weapons and rounds of manufactured ammunition were found at addresses in Bedford, with Harwozinski observed at one of these properties in Offa Road.
Scene of crime officers identified this unique ammunition from the previous incidents in Luton.
All the recovered firearms were the same makes with the same type of adaption and with the same unique ammunition.
Surveillance of Harwozinski also showed him receive a number of large parcels at an address in Bedford. Recovery of the delivery boxes showed he had used an alias when he had the packages delivered from the Czech Republic.
On January 25, when Garner and Harwozinski were seen heading to a DIY store together and bought a soldering iron, officers swooped in hours later to conduct warrants at two addresses in Abbey Fields.
They found a series of guns, ammunition, drugs and other weapons there and at other addresses in Bedford linked to Harwozinski.
Officers linked Harwozinski to the purchase of the blank firing handguns through an email address on his iPad.
He spent more than £4,700 on purchasing the handguns and ammunition.
Officers also found a metal work factory in Garner’s garden shed, including a lathe and other equipment capable of converting firearms and producing ammunition.
There was a target inside the shed, while barrels, gunpowder and blank rounds were found in a car linked to Garner.
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