Gun amnesty haul
Police pleased with response
Police in Lanarkshire have retrieved a haul of weapons during a two- week firearms amnesty which they have hailed a “huge success”.
A total of 17 firearms were handed into the area’s police offices, along with 72 air guns and 16 lots of ammunition.
Across the Police Scotland force, 474 firearms were surrendered as well as 690 air weapons and 337 batches of ammunition.
Police Scotland said the two- week amnesty between June 18 and July 1 exceeded their expectations.
Many of the weapons recovered were old but officers say that in the hands of criminals they could have been used for armed robberies.
Inspector Derek Hamilton, of Motherwell Police Office, said: “The campaign has been a huge success across the area. Protecting the public is at the forefront of policing and reducing the number of illegal or unwanted firearms lowers the risk of harm within our communities.
“Although the surrender campaign is now coming to an end, we continue to work to remove illegally held weapons circulating across Lanarkshire.”
Superintendent Ronnie Megaughin added: “The purpose of the campaign was to remove unwanted and unlicensed firearms from potentially the hands of criminality. That was our main focus.
“We went to the public and asked them to surrender unlicensed firearms. They have surrendered in excess of 1000 weapons and touching 350 batches of ammunition.
“It far exceeds what we anticipated or expected but it is testimony to the public of Scotland. It has made Scotland a safer place for everybody that resides within it.”
It has made Scotland a safer place for everyone who resides in it.”