A FORMER cop who wound up involved in the supply of a black market pistol will spend 17 months behind bars.
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Shane Allan Kember was one of seven men arrested by Oxley detectives investigating the supply of firearms in Gunnedah and Liverpool Plains areas.
Now a racehorse trainer, a Wollongong District Court judge found Kember played an "integral role" in the supply of a black market pistol to his mate in exchange for an antique gun.
He pleaded guilty to knowingly take part in the supply of a pistol and possession of a prohibited weapon in a plea deal.
However, Kember challenged the police version of events, claiming he was not present when an associate, Stephen Lawrence, made the exchange at Kember's property at Kembla Grange on August 31, 2016.
He claimed he had simply introduced the alleged buyer, Darryl Austin, to Mr Lawrence then went inside to eat dinner while the men conducted their business.
But Judge Andrew Haesler rejected Kember's claims and found he had not only been present when the transaction took place, but that he had been "central" to the transfer of the Ruger pistol from "one unlawful possession to another unlawful possession".
"What he did was a serious breach of the Firearms Act," Judge Haesler said.
The court heard Kember had had his gun licence revoked in 1996, however police found seven rifles during a search of his house, all of which were registered in his wife's name.
While she was found to possess a current licence, police confirmed she had moved out of the property some months earlier and was unaware Kember had illegal possession of guns at the property in her name.
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In court on Friday, Kember's lawyers sought a lenient sentence for their client in the form of a community-based intensive corrections order, however Judge Haesler refused the request.
Kember will be released on a 12-month parole period in July next year.
