Police seize 474 firearms during two-week surrender campaign

More than 1,500 illegal or unwanted firearms, air weapons and ammunition lots are now off the streets of Scotland.

Police Scotland has seized a total of 474 firearms, 690 air weapons and 337 lots of ammunition during its two-week surrender campaign. ‎

Significant weapons handed into stations across the country include a machine gun, AK47 assault rifle and a World War 1 pistol.

Superintendent Ronnie Megaughin said, “The aim of the campaign was to remove firearms from criminal availability and we now have 1,501 fewer firearms, air weapons and ammunition on the streets of Scotland.

“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 has now come to an end, we continue to work to remove illegally held weapons circulating in Scotland.”

Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf said, “This successful firearms surrender campaign has seen the removal of over 1,500 unwanted weapons from our communities – stopping them falling into the wrong hands. Whilst firearms offences are at historically low levels in Scotland, we will continue to work with Police Scotland to keep Scotland’s streets safe.”