Loaded gang gun found under floorboards at Black Country home
Armed police discovered two loaded guns at the Black Country home of a man previously jailed for possession of a loaded pump action shotgun, a judge heard.
One revolver, with three live rounds in the chamber, was hidden under a floorboard in the bathroom at the house in Victoria Road, Tipton, when the officers swooped at 3.30am on May 19, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.
The other pistol, loaded with four bullets, was concealed in a drawer in the divan bed where Imran Ahmed slept.
A further 11 rounds of ammunition and a wrap of heroin were also found during the raid.
He had only been free for seven months following his release on licence from the five-year prison sentence imposed for the earlier firearms offence in which he was found in a vehicle with the shotgun, revealed Mr Lal Amarasinghe, prosecuting.
The 36-year-old defendant – who was jailed for a further eight years – insisted he was 'holding' the weapons for members of the Raiders gang in an effort to pay off a drug debt and had been given the two handguns 10 days earlier by a man he met in a car park near his home but declined to name.
Ahmed continued: "I have been taking heroin since I was 20 and lost my job. I owed this big gang £800 which is why I held the shotgun for them. After I was freed from prison the people caught up with me and said I now owed a further £1,300 because I had lost the shotgun.
"I didn't want to hold any more weapons because I did not want any more distress but they were threatening me and my family."
The DNA of Ahmed was found on the bullets in the weapons which proved they had been loaded by the defendant, concluded Judge John Wait.
Ahmed admitted possession of firearms, ammunition and heroin and was jailed for a total of eight years.
West Midlands Police Assistant Chief Constable Carl Foulkes vowed there would be no let-up in the force's offensive to rid the region's streets of firearms.
He said: "Members of the public should feel reassured that this man has been handed a lengthy custodial sentence.
"It shows the courts and police are united in a strong message that illegally held firearms are totally unacceptable.
"No shots were fired but possession alone of illegal guns is enough to warrant jail sentences of many years.
"Our officers are working around the clock to close-in on individuals or gangs who bring fear to our communities.
"We're disrupting crime networks, seizing weapons and punishing people who believe they can carry firearms with impunity.
"There must be no let-up in our approach to tackling firearms."
ACC Foulkes urged anyone with concerns or suspicions about gun possession in their community to get in touch so the force could take action.
He added: "The public are our eyes and ears and I want to appeal directly to the communities of Birmingham to please contact us with any information you have about gun and gang crime in our city.
"Together we can and will get through this difficult period and take these guns off our streets."