Gang plot involved guns and Royal Mail disguises in Glasgow

Police uncovered a serious crime plot involving several Royal Mail uniforms

Gang members who were caught in a firearms plot involving Royal Mail disguises have been jailed.

Ezekial Aremu, 21, Cade Johnson, 21 and Richard Carty, 38, admitted they were part of a serious organised crime conspiracy in Glasgow.

Officers who apprehended them discovered a fake parcel designed to conceal a pistol addressed to a vets' practice at the Forge Retail Park.

Lord Arthurson said all three were at significant risk of re-offending.

Cade Johnson "was not aware" of the guns discovered in an Airbnb

Carty, from Salford, was jailed for six years and six months, Aremu for six years and Johnson for five years and nine months.

Armeu and Johnson are both from Prestwich, Bury.

The High Court in Glasgow heard police watched the three men who were staying at an Airbnb in Springfield Gardens, Parkhead, from 7-8 March.

Aremu, Johnson and another man drove a grey Mercedes car along East Wellington Street near the Forge shopping centre when they were stopped by armed officers.

The car contained a balaclava, £1,000 of counterfeit £20 notes and two cans full of petrol.

Meanwhile Carty was arrested at the Airbnb where police found a holdall containing a Luger pistol, six live cartridges and parts of a Glock pistol.

They also found Royal Mail uniforms and bags and Glasgow City Council hi-vis vests.

Police arrested Carty in the flat where a Luger pistol and ammunition were found

Parts of a Glock pistol were also found in the flat

Carty's DNA and Aremu's fingerprints and were found on the holdall and on a box that had been specially adapted to hold a gun which could be "readily accessed".

The prosecution told the court Aremu's position was that he was not going to use the weapons, while Johnson did not know about the guns.

Prosecutor Murdo McTaggart said: "The evidence in this case shows that the Carty and Aremu were involved in the planning and preparation for a serious crime involving the use of a firearm with live ammunition.

"The target or targets have not been identified by the police, but the serious crime intended must have involved the use of disguises - a postman and a Glasgow City employee - with the intention of evading security of avoiding suspicion, to enable a place or person to be approached without suspicion."

Graham Robertson, defence counsel for Carty said: "My client says he only touched the guns out of curiosity. He initially though he was coming to Glasgow for painting and decorating jobs."

Defence counsel for the other two accused claimed that their clients had suspicions, but did not know anything about the actual crime being planned.