A man who claimed he would be killed if he did not recover a gun has been jailed for five-and-a-half years after police found the illegal weapon.
Greg Youngson was planning to break into a flat in Aberdeen to try to find out if the revolver was still there.
However, police had already been alerted to the weapon after his friend fell out with his girlfriend and reported she was in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
Youngson, also known as McPherson, contacted the friend and told him he had bought a screwdriver to help him get into the property in North Anderson Drive.
During a meeting the friend said Youngson stated: “I’m gonna get killed if I don’t get the gun back.”
He warned Youngson, 33, described as a prisoner in Edinburgh, that the police would be at the house. Youngson still went to the property and provided his name and details to an officer.
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The High Court in Edinburgh heard Youngson had previously revealed he travelled to Birmingham by bus to collect the weapon, which cost £3,000 and was for another man.
He told his friend that he “would get a wage for it” if the gun was stored at the flat in North Anderson Drive.
When officers arrived at the flat and told his friend’s girlfriend they had received intelligence there was a firearm in the property, she gave them permission to conduct a search, and said: “There is something here, but I don’t know what it is.”
The Colt revolver was examined by experts who found it was not in normal working order.
However, anyone with a knowledge of firearms could have worked on it to make it fully operational for firing.
Youngson admitted being in possession of the prohibited weapon between October 12 and November 24 in 2016 in Birmingham and at the address in North Anderson Drive.
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