Mechanic who helped supply gangs with guns to pay back £1

A mechanic who allegedly made as much as £350,000 supplying dozens of firearms to gangs has been ordered to pay back just £1.

Allan Hughes, 30, was jailed for six years and nine months in January after police discovered his involvement in the sale of weapons to other criminals in Europe and the UK.

Prosecutors said they were unable to identify any of Hughes' criminal assets after the Crown launched a proceeds of crime action.

Judge Alison Stirling ordered the nominal repayment following a hearing at the High Court in Edinburgh.

Hughes, from Clydebank, was already serving a sentence for drug trafficking when officers seized a mobile phone with incriminating videos and messages in May 2024.

It included a recording of Hughes handling weapons including a Beretta pistol, a Turkish hunting firearm and a further self-loading pistol.

The court in Edinburgh was told Hughes made £350,000 from the supply of weapons between 17 July 2023 and 31 May 2024.

Prosecutor Bryan Heaney said they had been unable to identify any of his criminal assets.

However, he said the Crown would be able to bring Hughes back to court should any be discovered in the future.

He said: "Under the terms of the legislation, in the event of money or property belonging to Mr Hughes being identified, the Crown will be able to return to court."

During sentencing at the High Court in Glasgow earlier this year, Lord Cubie told the court the value of the firearms handled by Hughes was "in excess of £200,000".

Hughes, who used the nickname "Ali G", was in contact with seven individuals and sent and received messages about "at least" 42 different firearms.

A video on the seized Samsung phone did not show Hughes' face, but did show him "demonstrating the mechanisms of three different handguns".

He admitted to a charge of being involved in serious organised crime.

Hughes was separately involved in a £15,000 heroin handover with a man from Liverpool in Clydebank in June 2024.

A total of almost £20,000 was also found in this man's van.

Graeme Brown, defending, said the gun crime was "a continuation and escalation" to his previous involvement in drug trafficking.

Hughes was also given a three-year Serious Crime Prevention Order - known as a super-Asbo - designed to monitor and restrict criminals on their release from jail.