A man has been jailed after police seized a self-loading pistol and ammunition following a swoop on his Sandwell home.
Officers found the dangerous 9mm weapon concealed within a man bag which was hidden underneath Simon Malhi’s bed.
A search of the room in Crownmeadow Drive, Tipton, also saw officers recover a magazine with five rounds of ammunition and more than £1,000 worth of cannabis.
West Midlands Police carried out the raid on 15 December last year after acting on information and Malhi – who was not at the property – was located and arrested the next day.
The 28-year-old pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm, ammunition and Class B drugs at Birmingham Crown Court. He was sentenced to six years imprisonment on Thursday.
PC Ed Costello, from the Force Priorities team within CID, said: “This was a potentially lethal weapon which we’ve managed to seize and remove from society.
“Efforts had been made to hide the gun by wrapping it in multiple plastic bags, before stashing it within a man bag concealed underneath the bed.
“However, we’re well-versed in carrying out such searches so were able to recover the weapon along with the ammunition.
“Guns and drugs fuel crime and we’ll continue to take action to remove them from our communities and catch those involved.”