EXCLUSIVE
BLUNDERING COPS LOSE 17 GUNS DURING RAID
Police bagged up firearm parts after a search of an Auckland property — and then forgot them. The mistake was denied until the gun dealer at the centre of the search sent photos to the Independent Police Complaints Authority, showing the 17 lower rifle receivers left at the rear door of the property.
A receiver is the metal piece that holds the mechanisms that allow guns to fire. Receivers have serial numbers and are strictly controlled.
Police say there was no risk to the public, and the bag containing the parts was left for a short period, and while the dealer was at the property.
However, the author of a gun blog who has tracked the police bungle told the Herald on Sunday if the receivers fell into the wrong hands, it wouldn’t be difficult to turn them into firing weapons. There are YouTube tutorials on how to complete guns from receivers.
John Zawahri killed five people in a shooting rampage at a Southern California college after obtaining a receiver and building a rifle himself.
“The AR [Armalite Rifle] platform is very flexible and can be assembled to meet a variety of roles by selecting different component parts,” said Mike Loder, contributor to Kiwi Gun Blog and shooterslottery.org.nz
“But it is useless without a receiver. For this reason that vital component bears the serial number.”
Police officers executed a search warrant on a Howick property on December 18, 2014.
It’s understood the firearms dealer had temporarily stored weapons in safes in an acquaintance’s house, allegedly with police approval.
However, police were concerned at the lack of security for the large number of firearms at the address.
Some of the parts were removed by officers and taken to another property where the dealer had an approved storage facility.
It was during this process the bag of receivers was mistakenly left behind.
Loder commented on the mistake in an October 2017 blog post.
Police told him and others interested in the case to submit questions on the matter through the Official Information Act , which requires government organisations to respond within 20 working days.
Response deadlines were missed and some requests rejected, including because an employment investigation had started after the IPCA became involved.
The Office of the Ombudsman contacted police, after complaints about how OIA requests were handled.
An eventual response from police has been posted online. On May 7, Detective Sergeant Mark Osbourne, professional conduct investigator for the police, emailed a colleague that he had been to see the firearms dealer, and get the photographs of the firearms parts left behind.
Police won’t disclose the outcome of a now completed employment investigation. The firearms dealer didn’t respond to requests for comment, nor did the IPCA.
Inspector Steve Clark, Auckland City professional conduct manager, said the search was around the unlawful possession and supply of firearms.
“We were not initially aware that firearms parts were left at the address . . . the parts left behind weren’t capable of firing a projectile, they required a number of other parts to render them useable,” Clark said.