WE’RE BEING TARGETED
Criminals execute spate of gun thefts across Surf Coast and Geelong Farmer victim fears bikies using leaked Govt data to find & rob firearm owners
SURF Coast farmers fear the leaking of gun owners’ addresses at the hands of authorities has led to a spate of burglaries at rural properties across the region.
Ross Matthews is one of the victims who’s had $30,000 in guns stolen from his Modewarre property in recent weeks and fears his details were passed on to bikie associates who cased his farm.
The gun collector and keen hunter said his neighbours had also been hit — with some having up to 13 firearms registered, the majority shot guns.
“A couple of weeks ago I had all 10 of my firearms stolen and the bloke up the road had three stolen,” he said.
“When the (police) girl came to do the forensics she seemed to think bikies got hold of a list and gave it to their druggo mates to go get the guns.”
In January the State Government apologised to almost 9000 gun owners after a data breach saw gun owners’ personal information — including their addresses where guns were stored — accidentally emailed out to eight people.
The state’s Privacy Commissioner then advised the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) to post letters to registered owners informing of them of the bungle.
“The government sent us a letter stating all our details had mistakenly been given out to people they shouldn’t be. I’m now figuring that’s got into the wrong hands,” Mr Matthews said.
“They’re targeting people with less than 15 guns because anything over that you need more than a locked cabinet, you need alarms, sirens and security.
“We think they’d been casing our place because we didn’t have any of that.”
Police last night said they were investigating firearms thefts along the Surf Coast and Greater Geelong in recent weeks.
Victoria Police spokesman Thomas O’Byrne said firearms and valuables were stolen from two rural properties in Modewarre in two separate incidents in April and May, with a third theft in Whittington earlier this month. “Investigations are continuing but at this stage the thefts are not believed to be linked to any information breaches or Outlaw Motorcycle Gang activity,” Mr O’Byrne said.
“Rural properties, given their remote location and increased likelihood of firearm ownership, can be seen as attractive targets for thieves looking for firearms, which is why we remind firearm licence holders to ensure that their firearms storage arrangements are compliant with their obligations under the Firearms Act,” he said.
A DELWP spokesman said the department had since contacted those involved and was confident the shared data, which included members’ names and ad- dresses, had either been deleted or never received.
“At this stage DELWP is confident that any potential risk has been mitigated or erased and we will continue to work with all agencies to ensure this continues,” he said.
In 2013 a ‘black book’ containing a list of gun owners and dealers and their addresses was seized by police as fears swirled that criminals were stealing firearms to order by targeting locations where they know they are stored.
At the time detectives said they believed organised groups were behind the thefts in the region but it was unclear how the list was compiled, whether it was based on gun club records or a central database.