A GLASGOW man has been jailed for five years today for storing homemade guns and ammunition.
Salvatore Lupi, 38, claim he stored the improvised firearms for a friend to keep the weapons out of homeless hostels.
Lupi was caught in October last year following a police raid on his home in Maryhill, Glasgow.
Police recovered nine improvised firearms alongside a quantity of bullets.
Lupi pleaded guilty to three charges at the High Court in Glasgow last month.
His barrister, Murdo MacLeod KC, told the court Lupi was storing the guns for a homeless friend with mental health issues in an effort to keep the weapons out of hostels.
MacLeod told the court in July that Lupi “took the view that they would be safer in his possession rather than in various hostels around Glasgow,”and that the weapons had been “untouched” for months. Police confirmed Lupi’s friend later took his own life using firearms, the court heard.
No direct links to organised crime was found by investigators.
Lupi admitted a charge of having nine homemade bore “zip” guns without authority, as well as two charges of having ammunition without a firearms certificate.
Officers who raided Lupi’s flat uncovered firearms in a cupboard hidden in his living room, as well as a total of 20 rounds of hollow-point ammunition, the court heard.
Police found eight metal poles in polythene bags – which screwed together to make a “smooth-bore zip” gun and successfully fired a shotgun cartridge, as well as pieces of metal threaded together to make a firing pin.
Under the terms of the Firearms Act 1968, the nine “zip” guns found in Lupi’s flat constitute a firearm and possession requires the written authority of the Secretary of State or a Scottish minister.
Moira Orr, major crime lead for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, commented: “This was an important recovery of weapons and ammunition that had the potential to cause significant harm on our streets.
“These weapons have now been taken out of commission and Salvatore Lupi 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 latest figures from Police Scotland show that 273 crimes are alleged to have involved a firearm in 2021-2022, a decrease of 23% since 2020-21.
