Jewellery thief caught with gun, ammunition and dirty money near Glasgow Hilton hotel jailed

A convicted jewellery thief caught with a gun, ammunition and dirty money linked to serious organised crime has been jailed for five years and three months.

Jason Britton, 35, was snared by police after he was chased near Glasgow’s Hilton hotel on December 2, 2025.

Britton, from Salford, had been in a car with Cade Johnson, 28, of Manchester, who has previously been involved in a firearms plot.

Britton was caught with a gun which was kept in a brown Gucci bag along with a bullet and cartridges.

He was also found with £10,285 in counterfeit criminal cash – some of which was dropped during his on-foot pursuit.

Britton was previously jailed for five years and ten months in 2015 after he was part of a gang that committed a £230,000 armed heist at Glasgow city centre’s Argyll Arcade.

The gang made off with high-value watches from the Rox store.

They were caught when two friends were seen wearing the stolen watches.

Tuesday’s sentencing at the High Court in Glasgow heard that Britton’s childhood home had been the target of an unexploded device.

There was a further attack which resulted in his mother being hit by a ricochet.

Britton pleaded guilty to his latest offences of two charges of having the firearms without a reasonable excuse or lawful authority.

He also admitted acquiring and possessing £10,285 of criminal property.

Judge Lord Scott told Britton: “These offences were motivated wholly or in part with the objective of committing serious organised crime.

“This makes each charge more serious.

“You are assessed as being at a high risk of re-offending due to the serious risk of harm you pose to the public.

“Having regard to the circumstances, gravity of the crimes and your previous convictions, only a custodial sentence is appropriate, which is necessary to punish you and deter others.”

Johnson later appeared separately in the same dock and was jailed for two years and seven months after he admitted breaching a serious crime prevention order imposed on him in December 2019.

He had been sentenced to five years and nine months at the time for his involvement in serious organised crime and reset.

Johnson and two others were caught after officers discovered a fake parcel designed to conceal a pistol, which was addressed to a vet practice at the Forge Retail Park in Glasgow’s Parkhead.

The trio – who were staying at an Airbnb in the city’s Parkhead – were found by armed police in a Mercedes car which contained a balaclava, £1,000 of counterfeit notes and two full cans of petrol.

Officers also recovered Royal Mail uniforms and bags as well as Glasgow City hi-vis vests as part of their investigation.

Johnson was hit with a serious crime prevention order, which he flouted by failing to tell police about his journey to Scotland with Britton.

The court heard that police did a check on a BMW on December 2, 2025, which came up as being registered in the Manchester area.

Officers spotted that three people in the vehicle had their hoods up.

The driver was asked to stop the vehicle after police activated their sirens and lights.

Prosecutor Adrian Stalker said: “Britton exited from the passenger door and ran towards the Hilton Hotel with a brown Gucci bag.

“He dropped a quantity of £20 notes and proceeded on foot.”

Meanwhile, the BMW drove off again but stopped once more when ordered by police, who turned their lights and sirens back on.

Mr Stalker said: “The constable chased Britton towards the A804 when he fell over a metal railing and dropped another quantity of £20 notes. Britton got up and fell again and was apprehended.”

Johnson was located in the rear passenger side of the vehicle and was found in breach of his serious crime prevention order.

Mr Stalker stated: “No information was given about his intended travel to Scotland [to police] before he was apprehended.”

Britton was found still in possession of the Gucci bag, which was opened and found to contain a handgun and a quantity of cash.

The handgun was found to be a Turkish-manufactured Zoraki model 917-B self-loading pistol.

Officers also discovered modified .380 bulleted cartridges which were “suitable for use with the handgun.”

Mr Stalker added: “The handgun was in working order, capable of discharging cartridges and self-loading when fired.”

The Gucci bag contained £1,060 in cash – most of which was £20 notes.

Britton dropped £3,000 during the pursuit, which was also found to be in £20 notes.

A further £6,225 in mixed notes was recovered from an Asda bag under the rear passenger side of the BMW.

Mr Stalker stated that the cash was examined and “all were found to be counterfeit.”

Marco Guarino, defending Britton, told the sentencing: “The sentence is inevitable here, and he accepts that.

“There is a reference in his background report saying that he is the victim – this is not quite how the conversation went.

“He was attempting to say there was no direct victim in this particular matter and was referencing himself as he means he got himself into this problem due to the decisions that he made.”

Rhonda Anderson, defending new dad Johnson, stated: “This is a man who does regret his actions – when the car was stopped, he made no attempt to move. He remained with the police and co-operated fully with them.

“His intention was not to become involved in committing any crime but to go for the ride.”