Man arrested for possessing 18 handguns, over 100 bullets
The Hong Kong police announced on Friday that a 67-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a cache of firearms seized by the police, including 18 pistols and over 100 rounds of ammunition.
The weapons were found during a police raid on Wednesday of a ministorage facility rented by the suspect in Sha Tin.
At a news conference on Friday morning, Franky Cheung Ting-fung, superintendent of the Hong Kong Police Force’s Organized Crime and Triad Bureau, said that in addition to handguns and ammunition of different calibers, the police discovered more than 100 different types of firearms components, a stun gun, 11 knives, and four daggers at the facility.
Police said the suspect is a local
gun zealot and collector. So far there is no evidence to suggest he is linked to any radical groups or activities.
A background check revealed that the man once ran three companies related to firearms dealing, movie props and military models, and that he used to manage a shooting club. He also had gun licenses for processing and trading in guns, but all had been revoked by 2008, police said.
A preliminary police examination of the cache confirmed that all the guns and ammunition are genuine; the police added that the arms could have been smuggled into Hong Kong, and are investigating whether
any of them may have been used in other criminal cases.
The suspect will be charged with the offenses of possession of arms or ammunition without a license, and possession of prohibited weapons. Investigations have also revealed that the suspect may have used forged documents to rent the ministorage facility.
According to the Firearms and Ammunition Ordinance, any person who commits the offense of possession of arms or ammunition without a license faces a maximum penalty of HK$100,000 ($12,774) and 14 years’ imprisonment.