A man who used a metal detector to try to find a hidden handgun has been jailed for more than six years.

Liam McDermid, 25, admitted his involvement in serious organised crime after being spotted by a police surveillance operation while searching for the firearm in undergrowth in Edinburgh .

This is the first prosecution under Police Scotland's Operation Portaledge, which was launched in response to gang violence that blighted the east and west of the country earlier this year.

Judge Lord Arthurson told McDermid only a "significant custodial disposal" would be appropriate in the case.

In his sentencing statement, the judge said: "The public interest in suppressing and punishing such serious organised criminal activity is extremely high, particularly so when, as in this case, le

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