YES, it really was a pistol in his pocket ... or rather, his underpants ... and police were not pleased to see him.
Brisbane Airport chef Tyler Cheung Wong was in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong item when officers pulled him and a mate over on the Gold Coast early today.
There had just a terrifying armed hold-up at the Parkwood Tavern, where staff were tied up and robbed by balaclava-clad gunmen, and police were on the hunt for the culprits who were in a stolen getaway car.
They noticed the late model Mercedes in which Wong was a passenger driving erratically on the M1 and intercepted it.
When officers patted Wong down, they found a loaded .22 calibre revolver concealed in his underpants.
Wong, 28, pleaded guilty in Southport Magistrates Court to unlawful possession off a weapon and ammunition.
Duty solicitor Vered Turner told the court Wong had been very drunk and had only come into possession of the gun a few hours earlier.
She did not explain how he got the gun but said he had told it was 'a very stupid thing to do'.
Magistrate John Costanzo said it was 'an appalling lack of judgement (and) ... grossly reckless behaviour'.
`'In this country, we do not tolerate people carrying loaded concealable firearms under any circumstances,'' he said.
Wong was given a two-year jail sentence, wholly suspended for two years.
His co-accused was given a notive to appear in court later this month charged with drink-driving.
