A Fife man who bought a gun and made chilling online searches for the Dunblane school massacre has been jailed for five years.
James Maxwell, from Leven, paid £1,000 in cryptocurrency to buy the self-loading pistol and 100 rounds of ammunition, a weapon that could be used for "devastating purposes".
But the 28-year-old's plans were thwarted after US police searched and found a Glock 17 handgun and bullets in the UK-bound mail package which included Maxwell's address and phone number.
Four days later, a package containing the gun box and two ammunition boxes was delivered to Maxwell’s home. Police Scotland officers arrived with a search warrant and found it in his bedroom.
Maxwell was sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh after he pled guilty to purchasing and attempting to acquire and possess a prohibited weapon between December 1 last year and January 11 this year.
He also admitted buying and attempting to acquire and possess the ammunition and attempting to import the firearm and bullets without lawful authority.
He further admitted possessing an indecent Category A video of a child and possessing extreme pornographic images involving animals.
Rob Miles, branch commander of the National Crima Agency Scotland, said: “That Maxwell was researching school shootings and term dates while trying to obtain a deadly weapon and ammunition is deeply sinister and disturbing.
“This operation has removed a dangerous individual from the community, and we work tirelessly to protect the public from the trade in illegal firearms.”
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DCI Steve Elliott of Police Scotland said: "James Maxwell was willing to risk the safety of the public by bringing a deadly weapon into the country.
"His activities were brought to light during an intelligence-led operation by the Organised Crime Partnership and I want to thank all those involved for bringing him to justice.
"The illegal acquisition and possession of firearms will not be tolerated in Scotland and any such crime will be thoroughly investigated. The public can be reassured that the OCP will use every tool and tactic at their disposal to tackle organised crime in Scotland."
Sineidin Corrins, deputy procurator fiscal for specialist casework at the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), said: “James Maxwell has been prosecuted in the High Court in relation to a number of very serious offences by trying to import a handgun and ammunition into Scotland.
“This weapon could have been used for devastating purposes. But thanks to the work of law enforcement agencies and close collaboration with COPFS, this gun was removed from criminal circulation and the accused will now spend a significant period in prison as a result of his criminal actions.”
The court heard how during the search of Maxwell’s home officers found an opened laptop which contained an instruction manual for assembling a Glock pistol.
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The PDF file had been created on January 10, 2023, and had last been looked at on January 11.
Prosecutors told the court the ammunition bought by Maxwell amounted to 100 rounds of 9mm, hollow-pointed bulleted cartridges.
This type of ammunition is designed to deform on impact, increasing the surface area of the bullet and causing increased injury.
Subsequent investigations of the laptop also showed Maxwell had carried out searches that included “primary school in Glasgow” the “Dunblane school massacre” and “when do schools break up for Christmas 2022?”.
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