Stun guns, pistols, swords, “death stars” and a shotgun are just some of the deadly weapons criminals are trying to smuggle by post on to Scotland’s streets.
The National Crime agency has released details to The Courier outlining the contraband intercepted from organised gangs looking to import misery into the country.
More than 300 consignments of drugs mainly from China and India and upwards of 150 weapons shipments from the USA and Germany which were destined for our towns and cities have been seized since last October.
It is thought that these numbers are the tip of the iceberg when it comes to illegal imports heading for people’s letterboxes.
John McGowan, senior investigating officer for the NCA in Scotland, said: “It’s a high-risk tactic to choose. The NCA works very closely with its partners in Border Force to intercept illegal consignments.
“Where we have actionable intelligence, the NCA or Police Scotland will follow it.”
Prescription drugs like diazepam, herbal cannabis, and new psychoactive substances also known as “legal highs” are among the mind-altering materials seized but police also stopped cocaine, crack cocaine, MDMA and ecstasy from potentially ruining lives.
One single package recovered 7,200 steroid tablets, while another contained three kilograms of herbal cannabis which holds a potential street value of £10,000. Most bizarrely, one interception saw 360 grams of cannabis chocolate seized.
The weapons hauls also include a revolver, a semi-automatic rifle, “realistic imitation firearms”, gun parts, pepper and CS spray, nun chucks and 500 rounds of rifle ammunition.
The agency also prevented flick knives, butterfly knives and an automatic stiletto knife from making their way into potentially dangerous hands.
Mr McGowan, who is based at the Scottish Crime Campus, Gartcosh, said some items discovered by crime busters, most commonly in a postal sorting office in Coventry, are later found to be legally imported.
Others are not illegal in their countries of origin but a number are ordered for import from the most hard-to-find corners of the internet, the secretive so-called “dark web”.
Mr McGowan added: “The NCA is running a campaign this summer to remind people not to bring back stun guns from overseas, where they may have been able to buy them easily and so assumed they are legal here.
“Other weapons would need to be ordered via dark web marketplaces, and the NCA’s cyber crime unit works actively with international partners to disrupt and close down those forums.”