Firearms offences pair are jailed

The court heard the guns had no "legitimate" use

Two men cleared of being involved with loyalist paramilitary groups have been jailed for a total of 17 years for firearms offences.

Eric Hamilton, 19, was found guilty of possessing a sawn-off shotgun.

His co-accused James McKenzie, 36, was jailed for eight years after also being found guilty of possessing a sawn-off shotgun as well as two stun guns.

Both had been acquitted of being members of paramilitary groups and planning attacks.

The two men and co-accused Neil Findlay were cleared of being linked to the Ulster Defence Association and its spin-off, the Ulster Freedom Fighters, after a jury returned a majority not proven verdict.

As far as the stun gun and form of shotgun goes each of these in their own right are prohibited weapons Judge Lord Hardie

Hamilton, of Lothian Road, Stewarton, and McKenzie, of Crammond Way, Irvine, denied breaching section 57(1) of the Terrorism Act 2000.

But apprentice mechanic Hamilton and factory worker McKenzie were convicted at the High Court in Kilmarnock earlier this month of possessing the weapon and failing to hold a firearms certificate.

McKenzie was also convicted of possessing two stun guns and Hamilton, nicknamed Tyson, admitted being concerned in the supply of cannabis.

Mr Findlay, 32, who was also a member of the same flute band as Hamilton, walked free from court after being cleared of possession of a shotgun.

Surveillance operation

All three faced charges of possessing guns and bomb-making equipment, fireworks, igniters and incendiary devices to further the religious and political aims of the UDA and UFF.

The three were arrested in Irvine last year after a massive surveillance operation.

At the High Court in Glasgow, Lord Hardie sentenced Hamilton to six years' detention at a young offenders' institution for possessing a shotgun and three years for failing to hold a firearms certificate to run concurrently.

He was also sentenced to two years' detention for supplying cannabis and one year for contempt of court, both to run consecutively, after he refused to name the person who supplied him with the shotgun.

Lord Hardie said his sentence would be backdated to 4 August last year.

Weapon crime

McKenzie was jailed for eight years for possessing a shotgun, three years for failing to have a licence and six years for possessing the stun guns, all to run concurrently.

His sentence was also backdated to 4 August last year.

Passing sentence on McKenzie, Lord Hardie said: "As far as the stun gun and form of shotgun goes each of these in their own right are prohibited weapons.

"Unfortunately the use of firearms, particularly shotguns, is becoming more prevalent in Scotland than it has been in the past.

"The shotgun has no legitimate use, it is the favoured weapon of the criminal because it can be concealed and readily used."

He added: "Moreover, the fact that you had two different prohibitive weapons and the fact the jury accepted that you handed one of them to another person, Eric Hamilton, for what could only be a criminal purpose, put a very sinister interpretation on your possession of both of these weapons."