A gun enthusiast has voluntarily given up his large weapons collection after he was caught attempting to illegally import an air rifle in the UK.
Euan Davidson bought the gun from an online supplier but the package was intercepted by security staff at Birmingham Airport before it could reach the collector’s address in Dunbar, East Lothian.
Police then raided Davidson’s home where he told officers he believed he was purchasing “a legal air soft weapon” as he was a member of the UK Air Soft Association.
READ MORE - Exact time Edinburgh to be hit with storm rain and thunder with warning in place
Davidson, a father-of-one, was arrested and charged and the weapon was confiscated following the incident in June 2020.
Police then turned up at the 33-year-old gun collector’s home for a second time eight months later with a search warrant granted under the Firearms Act.
On this occasion police had been given information that Davidson was in possession of a handgun and following a search of the property the weapon was found.
Edinburgh Sheriff Court was told the black handgun was “a model of a Walther PKK” but was subsequently found to be an imitation.
During a police interview the gun enthusiast said he was member of various gun clubs and that he believed “the [club’s] insurance allowed him to have the item in his possession”.
Along with the handgun police officers were also said to have discovered “a significant number of legally held replicas” along with legally held ammunition.
Davidson appeared for sentencing at the capital court on Friday after he had previously pleaded guilty to two offences concerning the importing and possession of the weapons.
Solicitor Paul Smith, defending, said his client had 30 items seized by police on the second raid including 16 guns and that he was “an enthusiastic collector”.
Mr Smith said Davidson has “very much learned his lesson and now wants to move away from all that”.
The lawyer added Davidson was content for all of his gun memorabilia to be confiscated despite the collection being worth thousands of pounds.
Mr Smith said Davidson had used inheritance money to “accumulate the collection” and that he was “a collector and not a user”.
The court was told Davidson believed being a member of the air soft gun club covered him in terms of holding a licence for the weapons he was found to have bought.
Sheriff O’Carroll said: “You came to court on an indictment facing some serious charges under the Firearms Act.
“The court always takes firearms offences very seriously.
“It seems to me the facts in this case are unusual. In particular I accept what is in the report that you are a collector and were under the impression you believed this weapon to be legal.
“But you do not pose a risk to the public and you have learned a lesson and are remorseful.
“You ought to have checked much more carefully than you did.”
The sheriff said the custody threshold had been met but he was prepared to deal with the matter by way of an alternative to a custodial sentence.
Davidson was placed on a 12 month supervision order and ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work in the community.
The sheriff also granted the Crown motion for forfeiture of the weapons collection.
Davidson pleaded guilty to attempting to import an air rifle into the UK on June 6, 2020.
He also admitted to possessing a handgun without holding the appropriate certification on February 18, 2021.
