A man has been jailed for six years for possessing a submachine gun as part of an investigation which smashed one of Scotland's most sophisticated crime gangs.

Forensic experts linked Thomas Harvey, 52, to the Heckler and Koch automatic, one of ten weapons discovered in a secret vehicle compartment which had been designed to conceal a cache of arms.

Harvey is connected to a nine-strong gang who will be sentenced later this month for importing drugs and trafficking firearms in a vast criminal enterprise with an annual turnover of £100m.

But he was prosecuted separately and convicted by a jury of possessing the firearm after a trial at the High Court in Glasgow in November.

The Heckler and Koch MP5K-PDW submachine gun was discovered on February 2, 2017 in a hidden compartment of a Honda CRV in a lock-up garage at Whittinghame Court, Glasgow.

The court heard that Harvey's DNA was found on multiple parts of the weapon, including the grip, trigger and inside surfaces after it was stripped to its component parts.

Nicky Patrick, procurator fiscal for homicide and major crime, said: "Possession of illegal firearms, particularly of this calibre, is extremely serious but thankfully rare in Scotland.

"This discovery was made as part of a major operation to tackle serious organised crime.

"Police and prosecutors are working together to do all in our power to prevent these crimes and to bring those who commit them to justice."