A man who emphatically denied the firearms found in the boot of a Suburu were his came undone after police found pictures on Snapchat of the weapons sitting on his bed.
Raptor Squad officers raided Jason Dolan's Heaslip Street, Coniston unit on March 29 following an investigation into the supply of guns and drugs across the Illawarra.
Police uncovered a set of 11 keys in Dolan's bedroom with one unlocking a silver Suburu with no number plates parked near his unit.
Five resealable bags containing heroin which were stuffed inside a pink vape, two bottles containing Ggamma-Butryrolactone (GHB or liquid ecstasy), a mobile phone were also found.
Dolan told officers he had never owned the Suburu which he claimed belonged to his neighbour, and that he did some "muffler work, mechanic work" on it a year ago.
A shortened .410 calibre single barrel shotgun with a live shotgun shell inside, and two rounds of ammunition were found in the Suburu's boot.
Dolan was taken to Wollongong police station where he confessed the heroin was his, but denied he owned the gun.
However an examination of his phone revealed text messages proving he bought the Suburu for $500, along with a Snapchat gallery depicting him holding the gun found in the boot, and other images of the gun on his bed.
Dolan dialled into Wollongong Local Court from custody on Wednesday, where he pleaded guilty to six charges including possessing a shortened firearm and two counts of supplying a prohibited drug.
He will learn his date for sentence next month.
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Grace Crivellaro
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
