Man jailed for ammunition hidden in shoe at airport

A man arrested with bullets inside a shoe at Liverpool John Lennon Airport has been jailed for six years.

Michael Dermot McMahon from Rainhill in Merseyside, pleaded guilty at Liverpool Crown Court to two offences of possession of a firearm contrary to Section 5 of the Firearms Act 1968, four offences of possession of ammunition without a license and an offence under the Aviation Security Act 1982 regarding possessing dangerous items in an airport.

McMahon was sentenced to five years for possessing the firearms, 12 months concurrent for the ammunition at his house and 12 months consecutive for the airport security act offence and ammunition at the airport.

At about 8.30pm on 22 August, McMahon went through security at the airport, flying out from Liverpool to Dublin, when an x-ray of his hand luggage was flagged to to police by security staff.

McMahon was stopped and asked if he packed the bag himself, he said he had and that it contained nothing that should not be there.

Police removed the bag from the x-ray machine and searched it in the presence of McMahon. They found a shoe which contained a small grey drawstring bag. This was found to contain 13 live rounds of ammunition and two spent cartridge cases.

His house was then searched and a black self-loading pistol was found in a wooden beam above his bed as well as more ammunition.

In later police interviews he said he bought the gun three or four years ago to protect his home, after a series of violent, traumatic robberies in affluent houses in his area.

During the another self-loading pistol was found in a boot in the kitchen. It had two live rounds in its magazine.

Her told officers he was given it by his aunt many years ago. He considered it to be an antique that he kept in a cabinet and had never fired.

Detective Chief Inspector Will Chatterton, of the North West Counter Terrorism Unit, said: "This case demonstrates how rigorous airport security can have an impact on keeping our streets safe.

"He has never satisfactorily explained why he had these weapons and ammo in his possession and what they were intended for.

"Today McMahon begins a significant jail term in the full knowledge that the UK police and security service will do everything in their power to prevent illegal guns and ammo crossing our borders."