A man who used his Fife flat to hoard ammunition while he was a member of an outlawed loyalist paramilitary group has admitted failing to let police know he had moved house.
Steven Moffat was handed a 15-year notification requirement in 2006 when he was jailed for stashing a firearm and live ammo at his Buckhaven home.
He was a member of terrorist organisation the Ulster Defence Association at the time.
After admitting his involvement with the group at an Edinburgh High Court hearing, Moffat was locked up for five years.
He was given strict orders to notify police of any changes in his life, including when he moved address.
Admonished
Moffat was back in the dock this week after failing to let officers know he had moved from Kingsdale Gardens in Kennoway to Wellesley Road in Buckhaven in February.
Moffat was eventually traced by police in May.
The 61-year-old wasn’t present at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court when the plea was tendered due to the mobility issues he faces since having a leg amputated.
His solicitor Kieran Clegg told the court that when Moffat had first arrived at his office, he had a letter from Fife Constabulary from 2009 – when he was released – stating the notification requirements lasted for 15 years from conviction.
However, further research showed the requirements to alert police actually lasted for 15 years from his release from prison.
Sheriff Alastair Brown admonished Moffat and noted he was surprised he pled guilty to breaching the order “without reasonable excuse”.
“Romantic notion” of UDA
Unemployed Moffat became involved with the UDA as a result of “drink and bravado” and a “romantic notion” of what membership entailed, the high court heard.
He originally denied membership of the outlawed group but when detectives drew attention to the UDA tattoo on his arm he admitted he had been asked to join in a Belfast pub three years earlier.
Judge Lord Macphail said it was impossible for the court to take a lenient view of the “very serious” offences.
Police searched the one-bedroom flat in Erskine Street, Buckhaven, where Moffat lived alone.
Officers found loyalist flags, a handgun, ammunition, paramilitary clothing, replica guns, and documents relating to initiation procedures to the UDA, most of which were in a holdall in the bedroom wardrobe.
In a boot bag under the mattress, officers discovered a Browning 9mm automatic pistol, in full working order, wrapped in cling film.
The court heard the accused had family connections in Northern Ireland and had been a long-standing member of the Orange Order.
Moffat admitted belonging to the UDA, contrary to the Terrorism Act 2000, an offence which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
He also pleaded guilty to further breaching the Act by possessing a handgun, ammunition, clothing and other paraphernalia, giving rise to a suspicion that they were for the preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism.
He also admitted two charges under the Firearms Act, relating to the automatic pistol and two magazines of 9mm fire cartridges.
Moffat was sentenced to five years imprisonment for possession of the handgun and other paraphernalia under the Terrorism Act.
He was given two years for each of the Firearms Act offences and three-and-a-half years for belonging to the UDA, all served concurrently.
