Guns man 'no hardened gangster'

The court heard the guns were stolen in a break-in to a house

A man who agreed to sell two stolen shotguns in Inverness was described by his defence as a "desperate fool".

Joseph Carragher, 30, of Liverpool, was staying Inverness when he was offered the guns by a stranger.

At the High Court in Edinburgh, defence counsel Louis Moll told the court he was "no hardened gangster".

Carragher pleaded guilty to resetting two shotguns and failing to have a firearms certificate. He will be sentenced by Lord Emslie next month.

His former co-accused, fork-lift truck driver Stephen Williams, 24, from Liverpool, pleaded not guilty to the same charges and this was accepted by the Crown.

'Quick buck'

Following a break-in to a house when the guns were stolen, police received a tip off that a man from Merseyside and staying in Mackay Road, Inverness, had the firearms.

Carragher told police he had been approached by a man asking for drugs who then asked him to find a buyer for two guns.

He was taken to Ness Islands where the guns were stashed and had taken them.

The court heard Carragher had previous convictions for road traffic offences.

Mr Moll said: "He was down on his luck and he was desperate.

"An opportunity presented itself to him to make a quick buck and like a desperate fool he took that opportunity."

The defence counsel added: "He's no hardened gangster, he was an opportunistic, desperate amateur flailing around."

Carragher was remanded in custody until he is sentenced.