A convicted drug dealer was caught with a gun just months after being released from prison.
Aaron Green was previously locked up for four years and nine months for his part in a crack cocaine and heroin ring.
He was then handed a further five years behind bars, after he was caught with £24,000 of cocaine stashed in his underpants.
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But after being released on licence, the now 30-year-old had a "silver coloured revolver" stashed at an address in Skelmersdale.
Police found the gun in a search of the property in Flamstead on December 17 last year.
At a hearing in January, he admitted possessing a prohibited firearm and possessing a firearm when prohibited from doing so due to a past jail term.
Green, of Eavesdale, Skelmersdale, appeared at Liverpool Crown Court for sentence this morning, via video link from HMP Altcourse.
Christopher Hopkins, prosecuting, said the revolver had been successfully test fired by police experts.
However, he said the court was still waiting for a report from the National Ballistics Intelligence Service (NABIS).
A NABIS report identifies whether a firearm is known to have been fired in any reported shootings.
Mr Hopkins said: "The police recently test fired the gun successfully and then sent the gun off for the NABIS report. I don't know why that was done, because it would need to be test fired anyway by NABIS."
He asked for the sentencing to be adjourned until March 8, to which Judge David Potter said: "I don't think the court has any option."
Charles Lander, defending, said Green had been recalled to prison on licence.
This means the time he is spending in custody now will not count towards his eventual sentence.
Judge David Potter adjourned sentencing until next month.
Green was part of a gang of drug dealers operating in Skelmersdale who were jailed at Preston Crown Court in December 2015.
Then 24, and of Fairstead, Skelmersdale, he admitted conspiring to supply crack cocaine and heroin, after being busted as part of Lancashire Police investigation Operation Edgar.
After serving that sentence, police stopped him in a speeding Audi on the northbound carriageway of the M6 near Southwaite, in Cumbria, in September 2018.
Carlisle Crown Court heard at his sentencing in December that year how the then 27-year-old was told by officers that he was about to be strip-searched.
Prosecutors said he replied by swearing and indicated there was something concealed in his underwear, saying: "There's stuff down there."
Two packages of white powder were recovered, which were found to contain 246g - about 8.6 ounces - of high purity cocaine - potentially worth up to £24,000 if sold on the street. The drugs were said to have been destined to be delivered in the Carlisle area.
Green admitted possessing cocaine with intent to supply and was said by prosecutors to have played a "significant" and "trusted" role in the transportation of the cocaine.
- A previous version of this article stated the firearm was recovered from an address in Eavesdale, Skelmersdale. It was in fact recovered from a property in Flamstead, Skelmersdale. We are happy to correct this.
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