How the Skorpion used to kill Ashley Dale became the weapon of choice for Merseyside gangs

At the beginning of 2022, not many people, other than weapons' experts, would have heard of the Skorpion sub-machine gun. But by the end of the year, the weapon was prevalent on the streets of Merseyside and, in the hands of violent gangland thugs, had been used in three murders.

The Czech-manufactured weapon, capable of unloading 900 rounds a minute and 15 in less than a second, was used to murder Sam Rimmer, Ashley Dale and Elle Edwards in Dingle, Old Swan and Wallasey respectively. The gun features in Channel 4 documentary Merseyside Detectives - a new fly-on-the-wall series that follows the force as it investigates a spate of gun murders during a week-long period in August 2022.

The documentary focuses on the investigations of Detective Chief Inspector Cummings and recently retired Detective Chief Superintendent Mark Baker as they look to bring the killers of Ashley - a 28-year-old council worker - and Olivia Pratt-Korbel - a schoolgirl shot in her own home - to justice. During the documentary, Ashley's murder investigation lead detectives towards the Skorpion.

An ECHO investigation previously tracked how the weapon, which saw action in Eastern Europe, Vietnam and Ireland following its production in the 1960s and 70s, came to be so prominent. Speaking to the ECHO, the National Crime Agency's deputy director Charles Yates said the criminal use of Skorpions has been seen in the UK for over a decade, but only in low numbers.

Mr Yates told the ECHO: "Illegal firearms are trafficked into the UK from central and eastern Europe, often consolidated in Belgium and the Netherlands before transiting via France, most commonly as a single firearm. They are often concealed in vehicles on Channel ferry and tunnel routes, or sometimes sent whole or in component parts via post/courier labelled as other items.

"UK law enforcement agencies work closely with Border Force to intercept, seize and investigate every attempt to illegally import firearms or component parts. Many firearms smuggled into the UK have been ‘deactivated’ or modified overseas.

"The relative lack of original lethal purpose firearms and compatible ammunition has led to criminals resorting to the use of reactivated firearms or converted "blank firers" and we are proactively engaged with law enforcement, government, and private sector organisations in overseas jurisdictions to mitigate the threat of criminally convertible blank-firing firearms entering the UK."

Once in the UK the weapons are traded by OCGs like other criminal commodities, where criminal networks across the UK have established links. But Mr Yates added unlike drugs, a much smaller number of OCGs engage in smuggling and trading firearms, due to the higher risks and significant prison sentences.

Merseyside crime groups are believed to be at the very forefront of the distribution of firearms. An NCA report in 2020 investigating secret communications on encrypted messaging platform EncroChat about guns found nearly three quarters of crime gangs had links to Liverpool and the North West.

Officers from the NCA's National Firearms Threat Centre found 70% of all links to weapons examined in that operation led to Liverpool, with messages revealing gangs in the city "dominated" the guns and drugs trade outside London. The report said the city's geography, history of serious organised crime and the willingness of gang members to embrace the latest criminal innovations were behind the data.

And regarding the use of Skorpions, Merseyside Police's former Assistant Chief Constable Mark Kameen told the ECHO last year that "Merseyside criminals seem to either be at the forefront or very close to it around their involvement" in the distribution of the weapon since it became a favourite of the UK's underworld.

A common theme regarding the use of Skorpions on Merseyside is the reckless attitude that gangsters take when they indiscriminately pump a dozen or more bullets into crowded or residential areas. While Skorpions have been used to carry out hits in other gang-heavy cities, innocent bystanders are very rarely the victim.

While the lack of training to use the military grade weaponry is one reason for the collateral damage, Merseyside criminals' carefree attitude to gun crime is another. Dr Robert Hesketh, lecturer at the School of Justice Studies at Liverpool John Moores University, previously told the ECHO: "Gang members may target individuals they believe to be members or associates of rival gangs, but in fact are innocent as maybe the case of Ashley Dale.

"Innocent people may become inadvertent targets if they are in close proximity to individuals or locations associated with rival gangs or criminals - wrong place, wrong time. Gang related violence often occurs in densely populated areas and innocent people can be caught in the crossfire during shootouts or other violent incidents.

"There is also a lack of regard for civilian safety, with some young men prioritising the job - and the adrenalin will be pumping to get in and do the job. This can lead to reckless behaviour that increases the risk of harming innocents. Intentionally targeting innocent people can also be used as a tactic to instil fear and exert control over a community, as part of a gang's overall criminal activities."

Following 2022, where five people were shot dead, Merseyside went through the whole of 2023 without a firearms-related fatality. Although three people have since been killed this year following a gun discharge, Merseyside Police said shootings are at their lowest in two decades.

Although the weapon used in the three shootings this year was not a Skorpion, Merseyside Police continue to seize the weapon. Although it is unclear how many of the weapons are currently in the hands of criminal groups on Merseyside, the ECHO understands at least eight Skorpions have been seized since the start of 2022.

Speaking previously to the ECHO, Merseyside Police detectives said they believe the long sentences handed down to those who use weapons has been a deterrent. Four men - James Witham, Joseph Peers, Niall Barry and Sean Zeisz - were unanimously found guilty of the murder of Ashley and were jailed for a total of 173 years. Olivia's murderer Thomas Cashman was jailed for 42 years.