Man who was arrested at Northampton train station with sawn-off shotgun and a kilo of cannabis is jailed for five years

Tyrell Thompson, 20, from London, was convicted at Northampton Crown Court yesterday (March 14) of possession of a firearm and possession with intent to supply drugs.

He was sentenced to five years and six months in prison.

Another man, who pleaded guilty to the same charges and cannot be named for legal reasons, was also due to appear in court for sentencing but could not attend due to suspected food poisoning.

Thompson and his accomplice travelled from London to Birmingham by train on July 26. When they returned by train later than evening, they were carrying a blue holdall.

They were stopped by British Transport Police at Northampton train station, who opened the bag to discover a sawn-off shotgun wrapped in a CEX bag and a heat-sealed bag containing a kilogram of cannabis worth over £2,000.

Cartridges for the weapon were also found in the other defendant’s pocket.

Thompson claimed through his barrister that he did not know what was in the holdall and was carrying it for the other defendant. He said he went to Birmingham that day because he wanted to play football.

He admitted to being a cannabis user but said he had never dealt drugs.

A jury found Thompson guilty of both charges.

The court heard that the shotgun was in such a state of disrepair that it was “impossible to pull the trigger” when it was seized.

But a Facebook message read by the prosecution alluded to using the firearm to “stick up” a unknown premises in order to steal money and more cannabis.

Sentencing him, Judge Rupert Mayo said: “This is a very dangerous piece of equipment. It is sawn-off at both ends and is a weapon of professional criminals.

“At the least, it could be used to threaten. I believe this firearm would have been cleaned and used to enforce drug debts.”