A GUN shop owner has been warned he could be jailed for possessing an illegal firearm.

Cyrus Shahabi-Shack, who ran the Lancashire Gunroom store in Halliwell Road, was found guilty after a three-week trial at Bolton Crown Court.

The 57-year-old, of Lever Park Avenue, Horwich, wept as he was cleared of three further charges of conspiracy to possess firearms.

Louis Larsson, aged 28, of Fossgill Avenue, Bradshaw, was also cleared by the jury of seven men and five women of three counts of conspiracy to possess firearms.

The court heard Shahabi-Shack possessed a revolver that had been illegally converted so it could hold five shots rather than two.

On his applications for a licence for the Ruger .38 revolver, he had claimed the gun was to help him humanely kill wounded deer.

The licence restricted him to owning a weapon capable of firing two shots, and it was said in court that he drilled out three blocked chambers.

Shahabi-Shack was alleged to have sold an arsenal of weapons, which had been brought into his Lancashire Gunroom store in Halliwell Road, to Larsson.

The guns were brought into the store by Frank Rushton, aged 83, who wanted to dispose of his collection of weapons.

But the jury returned not guilty verdicts on these allegations within two-and-a-half hours.

Nicholas Doherty, defending Shahabi-Shack, said: “He is a normal citizen. He has two old convictions.

“Until he started to suffer from depression following this arrest he had always worked hard.”

He said the defendant lost interest in guns after opening the shop and had eventually planned to sell the store.

Mr Doherty said Shahabi-Shack was effectively the sole carer for his 15-year-old son and had been on a plumbing course.

Bolton Crown Court heard he had historic convictions from more than 20 years ago for obtaining services by deception and handing stolen goods.

Judge Elliot Knopf said: “All options will be kept open. Parliament has provided a minimum sentence of five years imprisonment unless there’s exceptional circum-stances.

“These are matters that need to be considered, it is not a typical case.

“I will be keeping all options open including custody.”

Shahabi-Shack will be sentenced on September 9.