Man who stored homemade firearms jailed for five years

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

A man caught with a hoard of homemade firearms which he said he stored for a friend to keep the weapons out of homeless hostels has been jailed for five years.

Salvatore Lupi, 38, was caught when Police Scotland’s Organised Crime and Counter Intelligence Unit raided his home in Maryhill, Glasgow, in October 2023 after intelligence suggested he was holding the cache for a gangland associate.

Nine “zip” type guns were recovered along with a quantity of bullets.

Last month, Lupi pleaded guilty to three charges at the High Court in Glasgow.

Defending, Murdo MacLeod KC told the court Lupi was storing the guns for a homeless friend with mental health issues in a bid to keep the weapons out of hostels.

Police confirmed Lupi’s friend later took his own life using firearms, the court heard.

No “direct links” to organised crime were established despite the intelligence which alerted police, according to prosecutors.

Lupi admitted a charge of having nine homemade bore “zip” guns without authority, as well as two charges of having ammunition without a firearms certificate.

Mr MacLeod told the court in July that Lupi “took the view that they would be safer in his possession rather than in various hostels around Glasgow”, and that the weapons had been “untouched” for months.

Officers who raided Lupi’s flat uncovered firearms in a cupboard in the hallway and in a TV unit drawer in his living room, as well as a total of 20 rounds of hollow-point ammunition, the court heard.

Inside the cupboard, eight metal poles in polythene bags were also found – which screwed together to make a “smooth-bore zip” gun and successfully fired a shotgun cartridge, as well as pieces of metal threaded together to make a firing pin.

Under the terms of the Firearms Act 1968, the nine “zip” guns found in Lupi’s flat constitute a firearm and possession requires the written authority of the Secretary of State or a Scottish minister, but no such certificate was found.

Lupi was sentenced to five years in jail at the High Court in Edinburgh on Tuesday, two days before his 39th birthday.

Moira Orr, who leads on major crime for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, said: “This was an important recovery of weapons and ammunition that had the potential to cause significant harm on our streets.

“These weapons have now been taken out of commission and Salvatore Lupi will spend time in prison as a consequence of his crimes.

“This case underlines our commitment to continue working with the police and other agencies to ensure that these crimes are detected and those responsible prosecuted using all measures at our disposal.”