Two men jailed for firearm possession in Old Swan

We have welcomed the jailing of two men for a total of 12-and-a-half years for firearm possession following an incident in Old Swan last August.

James Lee Foat, 24 years, of Jerningham Road, Norris Green was jailed for seven-and-a-half years and Kyle Melia, 24 years, of Killington Way, Kirkdale was jailed for five years on Thursday (28 February) at Liverpool Crown Court.

Officers had attended a property on Chudleigh Road on 15 August and following a search of the building three firearms and ammunition were recovered.

Foat and Melia were both arrested and later charged with possession of a firearm.

Detective Inspector Phil Mahon said: "Anyone prepared to store firearms in Merseyside puts the very communities they live in at serious risk.

“I hope those communities feel reassured that Foat and Melia will now spend years behind bars.

“We will continue our efforts to locate and seize firearms from the hands of those people who store them, and will take them off the streets permanently so that they cannot be used to cause fear, injury or worse.

“As well as removing firearms from our streets we will keep arresting and putting before the courts those people who care so little about the safety and security of others that they are prepared to store, carry and use firearms.

"We listen to all of the information we receive to help us identify and remove these people and their weapons from the streets. You can provide information directly to police, or anonymously via Crimestoppers, which is completely independent of Merseyside Police."

Anyone with information on gun crime and the storage of weapons is asked to contact @MerPolCC, call 101 or @CrimestoppersUK anonymously on 0800 555 111.