The trial of a businessman who cops claim was among a group of armed thugs who engaged them in a fierce gun battle in 2023 collapsed in court yesterday after a number of crucial admissions by police witnesses.

Neil Anderson was freed in the Gun Court Division of the Supreme Court after the presiding judge upheld legal arguments by his attorneys that there was no case for him to answer and entered verdicts of acquittal on all charges.

He was facing three counts of shooting with intent and one count of possession of a prohibited weapon, a charge that carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison.