![\"BBC](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/5ef0\/live\/04a8fa80-b9a9-11f0-ba75-093eca1ac29b.jpg.webp\")
BBC<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\nA man considered making potentially deadly “booby traps” after a series of thefts at his home, a court has heard.<\/p>\n Shazad Khan, 52, sparked a large-scale evacuation of his street in Glasgow’s west end after suspicious items were found in his four-bedroom flat.<\/p>\n He had been due to stand trial at the High Court in Glasgow but instead pleaded guilty to a charge under the Explosives Substances Act.<\/p>\n Khan was jailed for three years and 11 months for actions that the judge described as “frankly baffling”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The court heard emergency services were joined at the scene by a hazardous materials support unit and members of the armed forces after the alarm was raised on 15 February last year.<\/p>\n Gunpowder, metal piping and bags of ball bearings were seized during the raid.<\/p>\n Prosecutors said these items were capable of being used or combined to make an explosive device.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Police Scotland had first been alerted after Royal Mail staff intercepted the delivery of three cattle prods – which were eventually deemed to be legal – to Khan’s home in January 2024.<\/p>\n But weeks after the discovery, his flat was searched.<\/p>\n The court heard officers found the gunpowder in a shoebox, the ball bearings in a rucksack and the metal piping in a bedroom.<\/p>\n There was also a wooden board, covered in black paint and burn marks, while officers seized glue, a hacksaw and a vice.<\/p>\n Residents in two blocks of flats were evacuated and kept out of their homes overnight after a pre-planned search of the flat on Broomhill Drive.<\/p>\n A total of 26 people made use of a nearby emergency rest centre while others made alternative arrangements.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Prosecutor Greg Farrell said the 33g of gunpowder found was the type commonly used in commercial fireworks.<\/p>\n He added: “The expert opinion is that the metal pipes can be used as the container for an Improvised Explosive Device (IED).<\/p>\n “To form the IED, the pipe would need to be filled with a viable explosive substance such as gunpowder.”<\/p>\n The ball bearings could have been “shrapnel”.<\/p>\n But the court heard the pipes would have needed “further modification” for an explosive device to be made.<\/p>\n Khan mainly made no comment when interviewed by police.<\/p>\n However, he did claim officers had “got it all wrong” as the black powder was not gunpowder and confirmed all of the items belonged to him.<\/p>\n Khan’s mobile phone was also checked, but no suspicious messages or web searches were discovered.<\/p>\n He had previously been jailed at the High Court in 2018 after importing more than 40 firearms from abroad hoping to then make a profit by selling them online.<\/p>\n The pistols – which could discharge harmful gases, blank cartridges or flares – cost \u00a33,200 from a weapons company in the Czech Republic.<\/p>\n His lawyer said the latest offence continued “something of a theme” as he had “a habit of openly, but unwisely ordering items online”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Tony Lenehan, defending, said Khan had explained to him “the journeys that he took on YouTube on all manner of things”.<\/p>\n The KC said the father “lived in a nice house in Glasgow’s west end”, but that there had been break-ins at a basement area. <\/p>\n He had then thought of how best to keep his property secure.<\/p>\n Mr Lenehan: “His explanation is that, for a while, he had toyed with the idea of making booby traps.<\/p>\n “That is an absurd idea. A dangerous thing to do.”<\/p>\n The advocate said Khan had “never paused to make sure that he is not doing anything wrong”.<\/p>\n Lord Scott stated the offence carried a potential life sentence.<\/p>\n He told Khan: “It is frankly baffling that you thought that this was an acceptable response, even to repeated thefts from your property.<\/p>\n “Beyond possession of these items, there are no sinister purposes other than what I have been informed of, which are bad enough.<\/p>\n “It is just as well for you the authorities intercepted these deliveries before you attempted to set booby traps.”<\/p>\n Lord Stott said Khan could have killed or maimed himself or even an innocent member of the public.<\/p>\n He added: “Taking the law into your own hands is not allowed.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nFlats evacuated during search <\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
‘Absurd idea’<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n