Possession of unlicensed firearm and ammunition

(1) Where any unlicensed firearm or ammunition is found in or on any premises owned or occupied by more than one person, the following provisions shall have effect– (a) where any such firearm or ammunition is found in or on any premises occupied by a family, the head of the family or the person in charge or control of the premises shall, for the purposes of this Act, be presumed to be keeper of such firearm or ammunition, unless there is evidence to the contrary; (b) where any such firearm or ammunition is found in or on any premises occupied by a group of persons not constituting a family, the lessee of the premises (if there be one), or the person in charge or control of the premises shall, for the purposes of this Act, be presumed to be the keeper of such firearm or ammunition, unless there is evidence to the contrary; (c) where any such firearm or ammunition is found in a room, cupboard, locker or other container, the person in occupation or control 19 of such room, cupboard, locker or container shall, for the purposes of this Act, be presumed to be the keeper of such firearm or ammunition unless there is evidence to the contrary; (d) where a case falls outside the scope of sub- paragraphs (a), (b), or (c) above and it is unclear who is the owner or keeper of such firearm or ammunition, the Police shall, before preferring any criminal charges, seek legal advice on the matter. (2) Where any unlicensed firearm or ammunition is seen being thrown out of a vehicle, any of the following persons shall be presumed to be in possession of that firearm or ammunition– (a) the driver of the vehicle; (b) the employer of the driver of the vehicle if present in the vehicle; (c) the person in charge of the vehicle; (d) the person in control of the goods in or on that vehicle; or (e) the consignor of any goods in or among which the firearm or ammunition was found. (3) Where any unlicensed firearm or ammunition is seen being thrown away from a motorcycle of bicycle, any of the following persons shall be presumed to be in possession of that (a) the rider of the motorcycle of bicycle; (b) the employed of the rider of that motorcycle or bicycle if present on the motorcycle of bicycle; or 20 (c) the person in charge of the motorcycle or bicycle. (4) The presumptions made under sub-section (1) to (3) shall be made where the Crown can show that it was unable to link, with certainty, the possession of the firearm or ammunition to any other person. (5) It shall be for the person presumed to be in possession of the unlicensed firearm or ammunition to adduce evidence to rebut the presumption. (6) For the purpose of this section, an unlicensed firearm– (a) includes a firearm licensed under section 3 if the firearm is not in the possession of the holder of the licence for that firearm; and (b) does not include a firearm for which a licence was issued under section 3, where the licence is expired for a period of not more than thirty days. grant of licences.