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23/10/2015
Stun Guns Disguised As Torches Seized
Stun guns disguised as torches and phones have been seized at Glasgow Airport by Border Force officers.
Five men from Glasgow have been sentenced to 850 hours of community service, after they were caught to carrying the illegal weapons.
The men had returned to Glasgow from a stag party trip to Thailand.
Officers discovered a stun gun disguised as a torch in the groom's luggage, as well as four other stun guns, a flick knife and two extendable batons in the suitcases of the others.
The case was passed to investigators from the National Crime Agency's Border Policing Command and the five were charged with importation offences.
At a hearing at Paisley Sheriff Court on 24 September 2015 all five pleaded guilty. At the same court on Thursday 22 October they were given unpaid work sentences.
John McGowan, head of the NCA's border investigation team at the Scottish Crime Campus in Gartcosh, said: "These men were foolish to think they could get away with bringing items like this into the UK. They aren't harmless souvenirs – they are dangerous weapons capable of causing serious harm.
"Just because they are readily available abroad does not make them safe or legal here.
"Bringing back these items isn't worth the risk. You can end up with something much more serious to remember your holiday by - a criminal conviction or even a jail sentence."
Murdo MacMillan, Head of Border Force Scotland, added: "If you are caught trying to smuggle dangerous weapons into the country or simply unaware of the controls in place, these weapons will be detected and confiscated and you could face prosecution.
"Border Force is here to ensure these weapons are kept out of the UK as they can serve no purpose other than to harm people. We don't want them on our streets."
(MH/CD)
Five men from Glasgow have been sentenced to 850 hours of community service, after they were caught to carrying the illegal weapons.
The men had returned to Glasgow from a stag party trip to Thailand.
Officers discovered a stun gun disguised as a torch in the groom's luggage, as well as four other stun guns, a flick knife and two extendable batons in the suitcases of the others.
The case was passed to investigators from the National Crime Agency's Border Policing Command and the five were charged with importation offences.
At a hearing at Paisley Sheriff Court on 24 September 2015 all five pleaded guilty. At the same court on Thursday 22 October they were given unpaid work sentences.
John McGowan, head of the NCA's border investigation team at the Scottish Crime Campus in Gartcosh, said: "These men were foolish to think they could get away with bringing items like this into the UK. They aren't harmless souvenirs – they are dangerous weapons capable of causing serious harm.
"Just because they are readily available abroad does not make them safe or legal here.
"Bringing back these items isn't worth the risk. You can end up with something much more serious to remember your holiday by - a criminal conviction or even a jail sentence."
Murdo MacMillan, Head of Border Force Scotland, added: "If you are caught trying to smuggle dangerous weapons into the country or simply unaware of the controls in place, these weapons will be detected and confiscated and you could face prosecution.
"Border Force is here to ensure these weapons are kept out of the UK as they can serve no purpose other than to harm people. We don't want them on our streets."
(MH/CD)
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