Is free movement for Eastern Europeans to the UK contributing to the flood of smuggled guns?

Question

I would appear that alot of these guns are coming from there

Answer 1

Simple yes. We do not control our borders until we do the Russian Mafia and Eastern European gangsters will run rings around our police.

Answer 2

Who's idea was it? The idiots running the EU, who decided an open-boarder policy would be a good idea. Well, it is a good idea, unless you live in the UK. People come here because they get free healthcare, free benefits, and free housing the moment they set foot on our soil. And did you see the news at the weekend? The French are telling us we should accept all the illegal immigrants at Calais, just because many of them are from commonwealth countries etc. But they are commonwealth countries, France, which means they have no need to leave - we give them millions in aid a year. It's not our fault they can't do anything with it. The economic mess we are in now is not hte fault of immigrants, The problem is that those from the EU are free to bugger off whenever they want, so they leave whenever there is a hint of economic trouble. This leaves us lacking a huge percentage of the work force in some trades, which then exacerbates the economic situation there. We are only a small country, and we don't have any more space. Where I live, the government is forcing our council to build all along the Thames - on a flood plain for God's sake! This is idiocy beyond belief. Perhaps if we allowed less immigrants in, and encouraged our own population to have less children, we wouldn't have to build homes on land that will get flooded every five years, and when times get hard as they are now, it would make it easier to find jobs for the unemployed, because there would be more demand.

Answer 3

Whether you get rid of eastern Europeans or all immigrants wouldn't prevent guns being smuggled in the country. The people who deal with guns WILL find some other means of getting them. If it was that simple; the government would have done it already, therefore the easterners are not to blame.

They do more good than bad really. They contribute to the country's economics a lot. They PAY taxes, most don't commit crimes or cause any kind of trouble.

OK some of the gun smuggling sources might be in eastern EU, but for how long? Obviously UK intelligence will find these sources and put a stop to them. Then dealers in the UK just going to find other smugglers from somewhere else.

Its the great demand of illegal guns that needs to be sorted. If no one wants it, then dealers and smugglers won't sell them.

Answer 4

Although it is possible some guns are arriving in UK from E.Europa, the bulk of illegal weapons on our streets are sourced in Ireland.

Do not know the exact 'source', but they could very well be ex-IRA, or some such.

What I have seen in the media is best described as 'gun rental' or 'gun hire'. A person wishing to use a gun, hand-gun or rifle and who has the right 'contact[s]' can hire a gun for a day from about £50. After use, the weapon is simply returned to whoever hired it out. No gun in possession etc.

What's needed is to track down the 'possessors' of the guns which are being hired out.

There have always been guns available here in UK and gun amnesties over the years have done little or nothing to stem the flow of supply.

Back in the 1940s I lived in a small Kent village and at Harvest time, something like 400 guns would be in the field for rough shooting. That's a village with a pop of 2000.

There is NO shortage of guns here in UK.

Answer 5

Many arms flooded the black-market after the conflicts in the Balkans.
They're easier to move around Europe than before because
the Treaty of Schengen allows free movement between a lot of European countries.
Then you have the British customs service. I don't really know for sure if they are doing a good job but maybe they should relook their procedures and spend more time controlling ships and lorrys than British tourists "smuggling in" a bottle of gin and 200 fags. They look so "switched off " when I pass by them at Heathrow I often wish I'd risked hiding another bottle of scotch!

Answer 6

I think it's due to the incompetence of customs- our shipping ports are not covered well enough and that awful channel tunnel. I sincerely hope planes and baggage at airports are checked- how are they getting in to the country otherwise?

The opportunity for guns to come in to this country has always been there- the ira and loyalists used them in Ireland.

I would suggest the demands for guns are greater now and society is changing- the asbo, benefit and yob culture encouraged by the labour government- in their softly softly approach- legalising drugs may be the only way to stop this type of crime growing. Also educating young people - rather than encouraging them to go on benefits and have loads of kids with different partners and end up in a life of crime. The labour government love the nanny state appraoch. They penalise families on low incomes and actively reward thugs.

Also, they say they are being tougher on gun crime- yet killing someone now- actual murder no longer has a life sentence so there is absolutely no deterrent.

Answer 7

The firearms will most definitely come through the ports and Channel tunnel. The immigration situation has in my opinion not changed much in terms of the availability of firearms. Firearms were always available prior to the changes.

Customs cannot possibly search every vehicle that passes through. These guns are filtering in and into the hands of criminals. The new phase are Russian handguns that are sold in this country for up to £1500.

We have to somehow prevent their influx, but like drugs this is a massive task and near impossible to cut out completely. I'm sure for each one that is seized there are another ten or more passing through.

What do you suggest?

Answer 8

A lot of weapons globally come from there. Watched Lord of War. The fact that you have free movement of people from East Europe shouldn't be the cause, it's poor customs control of goods. It all boils down to money; where there's a market. We need to eradicate the market for these things, then we wouldn't have a problem. Easier said than done, however?

Answer 9

Guns have been coming into Britain in considerable numbers since the fifties with the Jamaican Yardy gangs. as several respectable middle class members of the West Indian community have been pointing out for a long time.

Answer 10

It is certainly a possibility. This country is so politically correct though that the Government will never admit it. It seems to me that we will let anybody in no matter what their background is. They seem to think that if they keep burying their heads in the sand the problem will go away. It will not until we vet everyone who want to come and live here. We need tougher immigration laws, and if someone from abroad commits a crime we shoud deport them back to their home country no matter how dangerous that country might be.

Answer 11

Never thought of that but now you mention it, it does seem to be a likely happening. However, are these East European people using the guns for their own ends. If not I think there may be a hole in your thinking