Zoe Watts, 38, searched ‘Has anybody been killed by a 3D printed gun?’ days before police raid, court hears – as prosecutors claim former PCSO attempted to make weapon to ‘sneak past law enforcement’
A woman used a 3D printer to try and manufacture a semi-automatic weapon that could have been converted into a submachine gun, a court has heard.
Zoe Watts, 38, was allegedly attempting to create a lethal “FGC MK II Nutty” firearm – with prosecutors revealing the initials stood for the defiant message “F*** Gun Control.”
The jury at her trial was told Watts, who has previous convictions for possessing illegal weapons and manufacturing explosives, searched online two days before her arrest: “Has anybody been killed by a 3D printed gun?”
Police discovered what prosecutors called an “arsenal” of weapons during a search of her home in St Helen’s Avenue, Lincoln, on December 12.
‘TRYING TO SNEAK PAST LAW ENFORCEMENT’
Prosecutor Jonathon Dee told jurors that Watts had attempted to make a lethal weapon designed to “sneak past law enforcement” using new technology that has revolutionized illegal gun manufacturing.
“It is a semi-automatic weapon capable of being converted into a submachine gun,” Mr Dee explained to the court about the FGC design.
The weapon type has become notorious among law enforcement worldwide as a blueprint that can be downloaded online and manufactured at home using a 3D printer and readily available hardware store components.
When police attempted to assemble all the parts recovered from Watts’ home, they were unable to make the weapon work due to a fault in the manufacturing process, the court was told.
But Mr Dee alleged: “If this item had been made correctly it would have been a prohibited firearm.”
PREVIOUS WEAPONS CONVICTIONS
The court heard this was not Watts’ first brush with weapons charges. She has previous convictions for possessing illegal weapons and manufacturing explosives – a shocking history that makes the current allegations even more serious.
In 2021, Watts was jailed for 27 months after police found an improvised explosive device (IED) at her home, along with stun guns, butterfly knives, and chemicals that could be used to make explosives.
At the time, she was working as a civilian employee for Lincolnshire Police, having previously served as a Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) for nine years.
The discovery of the IED led to nearby homes being evacuated while bomb disposal experts made the area safe.
‘A LOT OF WORK’
Mr Dee told the jury there was no dispute that Watts was responsible for attempting to make the 3D-printed weapon.
“The only issue is why?” Mr Dee explained. “The Crown say she was trying to make a weapon, a lethal weapon. She says she was trying to make a toy.”
The prosecutor alleged it was clear Ms Watts had done “a lot of work” on the project.
Along with the 3D printer found in a cupboard, police recovered metal parts including screws, bolts and what Mr Dee described as a “very short barrel.
THE FGC PHENOMENON
The FGC-9 design that prosecutors allege Watts was attempting to create has become infamous in law enforcement circles worldwide.
Standing for “F*** Gun Control 9mm,” the weapon was specifically designed to circumvent strict European gun laws by using components that are not regulated – hardware store parts, 3D-printed components, and easily obtainable springs and screws.
The design, first released in 2020, can allegedly be built for less than $500 by someone with basic technical knowledge and includes detailed instructions for manufacturing, including how to create a rifled barrel using electrochemical machining.
Law enforcement agencies worldwide have seized dozens of these weapons, with the design being linked to extremist groups and criminals from Ireland to Myanmar.
DOUBLE LIFE EXPOSED
Watts’ arrest has exposed what appears to be a troubling double life. While working for the police force, she ran a YouTube channel called “Survival Mistakes” where she demonstrated various weapons and explosives experiments.
In one bizarre video titled “Coming Out With The Lacerating Glass Bigot Twatter (LGBT),” she was seen smashing watermelons with faces of politicians including Donald Trump and Boris Johnson using a baseball bat covered in glass.
During her 2021 trial for the explosives charges, the court heard she was a “hoarder” with an interest in survivalism who made YouTube videos and “on occasions would go into the woods.
TRANSGENDER PRISONER CONTROVERSY
Since her recent arrest, Watts has become the center of a separate controversy over her detention conditions.
Activist groups claim the transgender woman is being held in the male wing of HMP Peterborough, where she is allegedly kept in her cell for 23½ hours a day due to safety concerns.
Protests have been planned outside Lincoln Crown Court by supporters demanding she be moved to a female prison.
NEW TECHNOLOGY THREAT
The case highlights growing concerns about 3D-printed weapons, which have evolved dramatically since the first crude single-shot designs appeared in 2013.
Modern designs like the FGC-9 can fire thousands of rounds and are specifically engineered to be manufactured using unregulated components, making them attractive to criminals and extremists seeking to evade gun control laws.
Mr Dee told the jury that while 3D printers can be used “for good” to manufacture items such as prosthetics, “It also has the capability to be used to manufacture weapons.”
