A man who kept a handgun and a cache of live ammunition in his bedroom has been jailed for six years and eight months.
The weapon was discovered when police officers carried out a search of Steven McGarry’s home in Paisley in January this year.
Later it was found that the gun had been recalibrated to fire live ammunition instead of blank cartridges.
McGarry, 37, was sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow after pleading guilty to a number of firearms offences, including being in possession of a gun “without the authority of Scottish ministers”.
He also admitted a charge of having ammunition without a firearms certificate.
Moira Orr, head of major crime at the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), said: “This was an important recovery of a weapon that had the potential to cause significant harm.
“This weapon has now been taken out of commission and Steven McGarry will spend time in prison as a consequence of his crimes.
“This case underlines our commitment to continue working with the police and other agencies to ensure that these crimes are detected and those responsible prosecuted using all measures at our disposal.”
The court heard how police officers McGarry was stopped by police in January this year driving an Audi Q5 in Edmiston Drive, Glasgow.
His two-bedroom home in Paisley was then searched by officers, who found the gun and 15 rounds of ammunition inside a sports bag in a bedroom cupboard.
Forensic specialists later found the accused’s DNA on multiple parts of the handgun, including the grip, the trigger, and the magazine release catch.
The court was told that at some point the original barrel had been replaced with a rifle barrel to allow the discharge of 9mm bulleted cartridges.
The original model and serial markings had been removed by milling.
The gun was found to be in working order in both semi-automatic and fully automatic firing modes.