A SCHOOLGIRL was shot dead with one of the guns Michael Sammon helped smuggle into the country.

Kamilah Peniston, 12, was shot in the head by her brother, Kasha Peniston, as he played with the revolver at their home in Wembley Road, Gorton, in 2007.

The killing is the most disturbing of a series of shootings and incidents caused by Sammon's arsenal.

Another of his guns was found under the bonnet of notorious Manchester criminal Domenyk Noonan's car in Darlington in 2005.

One of Sammon's guns was used by a man who shot his ex-wife in Droylsden and then killed himself with the weapon in 2006.

Another was used to shoot at a postmaster in Oldham in 2005. A publican was threatened with one of the guns in the same year.

In Liverpool, a gunman leaned out of a car window to point one of the weapons at pursuing police officers in 2007.

Kidnap

One of Sammon's guns was also used an horrific kidnap in Liverpool, also in 2007.

These weapons were among the 274 blank-firing pistols posted from a legitimate manufacturer in Germany, Cuno Melcher, before being converted into deadly weapons capable of firing bullets at Sammon's workshop in Ancoats.

Police have seized some, but up to 100 remain in the hands of criminals, capable of causing a bloodbath.

Det Sgt Jim Gray, of GMP's anti gun and gang strategy, Xcalibre, said: “Gun crime is a cancer and we are doing all we can to cut it out. Wherever we get the chance, we will seize them. They are the scourge of society.

“Wherever these guns are, they are still turning up. When they do, we investigate it thoroughly. We don't know where they are in the UK. The only people who know that are Sammon and Tyrer and they're unlikely to tell us.”

Sammon liked to think of himself as a master of disguise, using a series of false passports and regularly changing his appearance.

Det Sgt Gray said: “Over the years he had a moustache and then big hair, and then he cut it back. He made subtle changes to his appearance. When he felt he was compromised, he changed his appearance.

“He is a big character, a powerful man and quite domineering. He was a manipulator and a confidence trickster who associates described as charismatic but who was actually a big bully.”