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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
National
Joe Thomas

The history and downfall of British gangland's most notorious weapon

British crime's most-used gun had such notoriety that Merseyside Police launched an investigation dedicated to finding it.

From Kirkby to West Derby, Stockbridge Village to Chinatown, it was fired 17 times on the streets of Merseyside.

After being used in Tuebrook in 2014 it fell silent for three years before re-emerging in a brutal street attack in Wavertree.

That shooting - in which the victim was shot in the head - was its final act.

Over the coming weeks detectives closed in on the weapon before seizing it in Kirkby.

The recovery of the handgun marked the end of a remarkable reign for the Italian-made firearm, which came to be known within police circles as Linked Series Four.

From its first use in Scottish parkland to its discovery behind piping in a Kirkby bathroom, this is the story of that gun, the role it played in gangland Merseyside, and how it was finally removed from our streets.

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