West Midlands Police recovered a realistic looking replica handgun during a raid in Birmingham this morning.
Officers from the Gang Unit executed the warrant in the Alvechurch Road area of West Heath, at around 7am (27 March).
They seized several bags of cannabis and drugs paraphernalia, plus the imitation pistol – a Bruni model 92 – which was stashed under a bed.
Almost 50 rounds of blank ammunition were also recovered.
A 25-year-old man was spoken to at the address and is under investigation; he will be interviewed at a later date.
Detective Sergeant Nick McCullogh said: “It’s a convincing replica weapon in terms of appearance, size and weight. People would undoubtedly believe this to be the genuine article if they were faced with it.
“The gun will be sent for forensic analysis by ballistics experts.
“Weapons like this are illegal in the UK and anyone in possession of a blank firing pistol may find themselves being arrested and potentially jailed.”