Two guns linked to James Lunt were used in at least 22 shootings on the streets of the UK.
All but one of those blasts - fired from a Beretta pistol and an Uzi sub-machine gun - took place on Merseyside.
The attacks led to five people being injured - including a 15-year-old boy shot in Liverpool’s Chinatown.
Most of the shootings took place before the firearms came under the control of Lunt.
But his network was brought down after British crime's most used gun was fired 11 times at a man in a Wavertree street, almost killing him.
Lunt's cache of weapons, which also included a sawn-off shotgun, backed up a drugs network credited with moving around 200kgs of cannabis and smaller quantities of cocaine.
The 29-year-old and seven of his associates today received their sentences after 11 months of legal hearings highlighted his antics and the roles of the drug dealers and gun minders beneath him.
Shot in the head
The investigation that led to his downfall centred on his links to the Italian-made Beretta 9000S repeatedly fired at Mark Gaskill on Stevenson Street in 2017.
Several bullets struck the 26-year-old in the head but he was saved by the motorbike helmet he was wearing.
Lunt, of nearby Celendine Close, did not carry out that attack.
But extensive mobile phone evidence helped detectives show the gang he led was behind it.
While Lunt was not linked to the other 18 incidents - 16 on Merseyside and two in Scotland - linked to the same handgun between 2011 and 2016 - he was connected to a second incident.
James Lunt
On October 21, 2012 an Isreali-made Uzi sub-machine gun was fired near Augusta Close, a tiny cul-de-sac next to Edge Lane retail park.
Fifteen bullets were unloaded from the weapon, capable of firing 600 rounds a minute.
Some were discovered lodged in parked cars and, crucially, one was found to have Lunt’s DNA on it.
Guns and cannabis farms
Although questioned twice over the shooting Lunt was not charged over the incident.
Prosecutors Nigel Power, QC and Nicola Daly said improved forensic evidence had since become available and that, combined with the discovery of the Uzi at the Toxteth home of a woman linked to Lunt in 2017, revealed he had control of it throughout the five years between the shooting and seizure.
Lunt, who was jailed for three years in 2015 for controlling a network of four cannabis farms across Liverpool and Wirral, was also linked to a shotgun stolen from Cheshire.
After its theft the barrel was sawn-off and it was found buried close to a tree near his home.
That gun is not thought to have been used in any criminal shootings.
A host of references were sent to Liverpool Crown Court backing Lunt, who was said to have a "different side".
Gang leader 'helped the homeless'
Friends and family praised him for helping elderly neighbours and a city homeless charity, while he was said to have gained "trusted status" and become a "model prisoner" since he was remanded in custody.
But Lunt is now looking at a long stint behind bars after he was sentenced to 21 years in jail - of which he will spend a minimum of 14 behind bars- for conspiracies to possess firearms with intent to endanger life; to possess prohibited firearms for transfer; to possess ammunition without a certificate; and to supply cocaine and cannabis.
In total, 14 criminals were sentenced to a total of 119 years in prison as part of Operation Blush, Merseyside Police's probe into Lunt and his network.
Lee Brown
Lee Brown was jailed alongside Lunt in 2015 after being convicted of conspiracy to produce cannabis.
A police probe codenamed Operation Kala found the pair were cultivating hundreds of plants together.
The 30-year-old, of Holmrook Road in Norris Green, was said by police to be a "prominent" member of Lunt’s cannabis dealing network after the release from jail of the pair.
James Bennett
He dealt every day and sent "broadcast" messages to customers and was found guilty of conspiracy to supply cannabis. He was jailed for six and a half years.
James Bennett, 25 and of Arnold Grove in Wavertree, was also convicted of conspiracy to supply cannabis and was said to be operating at a similar level to Brown, while 25-year-old Lee Jones, of Mile End in Vauxhall, was also one of Lunt’s cannabis street dealers.
Bennett was today jailed for five and a half years and Jones to three.
Lee Jones
Thomas Porterfield, from Llangollen in North Wales, ran hydroponics shops in Liverpool and Moreton, on Wirral.
Described as a "passionate horticulturist" the court was told his work had exposed him to people interested in "the dark side of his trade".
The 37-year-old’s DNA was found on the Uzi, which he organised the storage of at a home in L8.
Also said to be "highly-regarded" in prison, he was found guilty of conspiracies to possess firearms with intent to endanger life; to possess prohibited firearms for transfer and to possess ammunition without a certificate.
Thomas Porterfield
Prosecutors said Porterfield, jailed for 13 years, had arranged for the Uzi to be secreted by Catherine McGuiness, a mum from Toxteth.
She was found guilty of stashing the machine gun and ammunition for between four and six weeks before police discovered it at her Nickleby Close home.
The 50-year-old was never in contact with Lunt, instead acting under the instructions of Porterfield, who she was in contact with on the morning of October 19, 2017 - the day police raided her house.
When police arrived at her home, at around 5pm, Lunt and another man were at the property but escaped through the back and jumped over a wall before hiding in a shop in Admiral Street.
A police search party found the Uzi in her loft as well as an envelope containing £1,000 that had Cathy written on it.
Ammunition, another £680 and quantities of cannabis and cocaine were also recovered.
Catherine McGuiness
McGuiness later explained she had been asked to mind a package but did not know what was in it and would not say who had asked her to store it.
She added the two men who fled her home when police arrived were unknown to her - she just knew they were there to pick up the parcel she had been minding.
McGuiness was said to have remorse over her actions and to be using her time in prison productively.
The court heard she had become part of an editorial team at a jail magazine.
She was found guilty of conspiracies to possess firearms with intent to endanger life, to possess prohibited firearms for transfer and to possess ammunition without a certificate and was sentenced to 12 years.
Michael Connerty was accused of driving Lunt and an associate to McGuiness’ home to pick up the Uzi.
The 33-year-old was arrested outside the house after officers, who had been tracked the movements of his Jaguar, arrived in Nickleby Close before raiding her property.
Michael Connerty
It was also argued that he helped to keep an eye on police during the search that led to the shotgun linked to Lunt being discovered.
Living in Lemon Close, Wavertree, Connerty was a neighbour of Shabba Odita.
Odita’s number was found on the phone seized from Connerty’s car when he was arrested in Nickleby Close.
Two further guns were found in December 2017 when police raided Odita’s home and van, discovering a Beretta double-barrelled, sawn-off shotgun, a self-loading pistol, ammunition, body armour, 32,880 diazepam tablets, and cocaine and heroin valued at a combined value of at least £35,000.
Judge Rachel Smith said she could not be sure he was aware of guns found in the raid of Odita's home and van.
Connerty gave a passionate defence of himself from the dock during his sentencing, arguing that the prosecution had "had their cake and eaten it" during the case against him.
He said the acceptance that his involvement started from September 2017 undermined prosecution claims he was involved in a tight-knit conspiracy.
He added he had no knowledge of the Uzi when he dropped Lunt off at Nickleby Close, driving him there under the impression he would receive a small amount of cannabis for the lift.
Connerty, who said his "friendship was blindsided", was jailed today for 14 years after being found guilty of firearms and cannabis conspiracies.
In June 2018, Odita was jailed for 14 years and eight months after admitting possession of guns and drugs.
Shabba Odita
While the man who shot Mr Gaskill on Lunt's orders has not been found, Alan E’von was convicted of being at the shooting.
The dad-of-two was caught after officers tested a cherry Lucozade bottle found lying at the scene.
The Lucozade that had spilled onto the road around it was still wet when police arrived - allowing prosecutors to argue it had been dropped just before their arrival.
Alan E’von
The DNA of E’von, of no fixed address, was found on the neck of the bottle.
He was described in court as simply a "foot soldier" in a wider plot.
The 22-year-old was found guilty of conspiracy to possess firearms with intent to endanger life and to possess ammunition without a certificate.
The prosecution case was that he "was present to encourage and support the shooting".
He was jailed for 13 years.
Also sentenced previously:
Adam Bigley
Adam Bigley, of Windfield Close, Kirkby, was sentenced to six years and nine months for possession of firearm.
The Beretta used in the Stevenson Street shooting was found at his home, loaded, when police raided the property hours after watching him meet Lunt in a Wavertree park.
Anthony O’Reilly
Anthony O’Reilly, 29 and of Huddleston Road, Wavertree, was jailed after significant amounts of ammunition and Class A and B drugs were recovered from his address in May 2017.
O’Reilly was sentenced to five years and six months after entering guilty pleas.
Thomas Browne
Thomas Browne, 32 and of Cornhill in Liverpool city centre, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class B drugs and was sentenced to 27 months.
Liam Ackers
Liam Ackers, 25 and of Mill Lane, Wavertree, admitted conspiracy to supply Class B drugs. He was also sentenced to 27 months.
Kieran Hodge
Kieran Hodge, 29 and of Frampton Road, Walton, pleaded guilty to production of a controlled drug (cannabis). He was sentenced to six months.
Max Jones, 22 and of Mile End, Vauxhall, pleaded guilty to possession of a Class B drug (cannabis) with intent to supply. He was given to a two year community order.
Following the sentencing of Lunt and seven other members of his network today, Detective Chief Inspector Steve Reardon, of Merseyside Police, said: “Those convicted today were caught up in a web of conspiracy involving the supply of guns and drugs on the streets of Merseyside.
“Thanks to the sterling work of the National Ballistsics Intelligence Service, which was able to identify the Beretta and the Uzi submachine gun along with DNA of some of the suspects, we were able to focus our investigations and link these two groups.
“Today they have been sentenced to a total of 119 years in jail, which shows the severity of their crimes. we recovered were responsible for 21 shootings on Merseyside - 16 shots fired and five resulting in injury, this could easily have been a very different story.
“One shooting on Merseyside is one too many.
“Whilst there is no doubt in my mind that Merseyside is a safer place with these weapons off the streets there is still a lot of work to be done to ensure that criminals know that the people of Merseyside will not tolerate the use of firearms on our streets.
“Together with our communities we need to transfer the fear of gun crime back on to those prepared to use guns on our streets – if you have information, which could help us put those involved in serious and organised crime before the courts, let us know and we will take positive action.”