A BOLTON man has been jailed for 12 years after he was caught driving around Manchester with an “assassin’s kit”.

Luke Lawrence, aged 27, of Churchbeck Chase, Stoneclough, was sentenced yesterday after being found guilty of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life following a trial at Manchester Crown Court.

Armed police swooped on Lawrence’s Vauxhall Astra in Moorton Avenue, Burnage, in March and found a 9mm semi-automatic pistol with a loaded magazine, silencer and laser sight, the court heard.

The jury was told that Lawrence and his two passengers were members of Fallowfield Mad Dogs — an offshoot of the notorious Gooch Gang — and that all three men were in on a plot that could have led to a gangland rival being shot.

Rap lyrics were found on pieces of paper in the glove compartment which the prosecution claimed showed that Lawrence was steeped in gang culture.

One line talked about murdering his “foes” and another promised there will be “another dozen bodies in the cemetery” when two of his friends come out of jail.

After Lawrence was arrested, his computer was examined revealing internet searches on guns, bullets, a Gooch Gang trial and Fallowfield Mad Dogs.

They also found photographs of people holding guns.

Detective Inspector Richard Mortimer, of GMP’s Xcalibre Organised Crime Unit, said: “Lawrence and his friends were driving round Manchester that night with what can only be described as an assassin’s kit.

“Thankfully, we were able to recover that lethal weapon and disrupt a gang of men who were clearly involved in gun activity.”

Kane Mousah, aged 23, of Clinton Avenue, Fallowfield, was jailed for nine years and Joel Johnson, aged 34, of no fixed address, was given an indeterminate sentence for public protection and will serve a minimum of five years and 266 days in prison before he is eligible for parole.

pkeaveny@ theboltonnews.co.uk