Police officers gave a firearms suspect a lift home unaware he was carrying a stun gun.
A senior officer admitted she was “embarrassed” that the weapon wasn’t found until Lee Narwan threw it in a washing machine.
Inspector Karen McColl said it was missed because female officers aren’t allowed to search men.
Narwan, 28, was found guilty this week of possessing a prohibited weapon at his home in Caol Court, Thorntonhall, on February 27 this year.
Inspector McColl, 49, said she and Sergeant Lorraine Fraser found Narwan in the street.
His mother had called police to say she was worried he had a weapon and would harm himself.
The officers recovered nothing during a “cursory” search and, because it was snowing and the suspect was upset and agitated, they took him home.
Narwan wasn’t handcuffed and sat beside Inspector McColl in the police vehicle.
The inspector, who has 23 years service, said: “We were unable, because we are female, to carry out a full search.
“It was only a cursory search, patting down his jacket and jeans.”
Defence agent Jim O’Dowd said it was “quite astonishing” that his client hadn’t been “searched properly”.
He told Inspector McColl: “It’s embarrassing that you put someone in your car who was carrying a stun gun.
“He could have had anything on him - a knife or a gun.”
The witness agreed that was the case, but added: “He was agitated and emotional, and it was extremely cold and snowing.
“We had requested assistance from other, male officers.”
Sergeant Fraser said Narwan was “fidgety” when they took him home.
She added: “His mother was upset and we were discussing the option of taking him to hospital.
“He moved towards the utility room and I saw him take a black item from his jeans pocket and drop it in the washing machine.
“I looked in the machine and saw it was a stun gun with a flashing red light.
“Narwan said he’d got it from a friend and he had it only to harm himself.”
Mr O’Dowd argued that searching the washing machine without a warrant was illegal and his client should be acquitted.
But Sheriff Shiona Waldron ruled that the officers were “perfectly entitled” to look there, given their earlier suspicion that Narwan was carrying a weapon.
She found the accused guilty and deferred sentence until December 8 for a criminal justice social work report and an electronic tagging assessment.
Narwan had his bail continued.
