I have heard many people disbelieve that anyone would not unpack their boxes and therefore discover the present left by a third party. I was fortunate enough to get a home posting recently (March) after several years of unaccompanied tours during which time I aquired pretty much two sets of everything. I have not unpacked a single box since parking them in my garage and amongst the logic behind this is that I have neither need nor room inside the house for the kit. Happily I packed my own boxes (so no surprises for me) but for the record, I find his story of not being aware the gun was in a box a believeable one. A civilian on the other hand probably would not understand this.
It is clear that the system had its hands tied on this one with regard to bringing him to court, but I still feel that some discretion would have been a fairer outcome and that a suspended prison sentence to be just. It is clearly wrong to treat this man as one would a Moss-side drug dealer tooled up with intent. Has the petition not been started yet; for you can of course force a House of Commons debate on the matter.