Overview

• Ronald Knowles converted about 33 replica pistols into live handguns and assembled 80 fully kitted assassination packages at his Alfreton address.
• Each kit included a threaded barrel for a silencer, a magazine loaded with expanding bullets, and latex gloves to help shooters evade detection.
• Notorious crime figure Gary Hardy and associate Stephen Houston distributed the assassination kits to organised gangs across the West Midlands and Essex.
• One of the modified weapons was used by Jason Hill to kill rival Owen Fairclough in June 2023.
• Knowles, Hardy, Houston and Hill were found guilty of serious firearms offences at Nottingham Crown Court on May 23 and await sentencing later this year.