A Kāpiti based Mongrel Mob prospect recently found with firearms and ammunition has been the catalyst for Police identifying new sources of firearms to the criminal underworld thanks to the Firearms Registry.
On Friday 15 November, Police executed a search warrant at a Kāpiti Coast address. They discovered a .22 rifle, a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun, two .22 magazines, more than 400 rounds of .22 ammunition, 25 shotgun slugs and buckshot shotgun ammunition, as well as two rifle silencers, and a significant amount of cannabis.
A check on the serial numbers on the firearms seized with the Firearms Registry quickly revealed the identity of the licence holder who should have been in possession of the guns.
After confirming the firearms hadn't been reported stolen that licence holder was served with a firearms licence suspension, the first step to being revoked. Their firearms were seized, and they are now facing criminal charges related to the unlawful supply of firearms.
Flowing from connections identified from the original seized firearms, further search warrants have been executed, with other alleged firearms diverters being linked through the firearms records now available to Police from the Firearms Registry.
"This is a great example of our communities being made safer because frontline Police have been able to build a robust intelligence picture and follow good quality information from the Firearms Registry," says Detective Senior Sergeant Mike Sears, Wellington District Investigations Group.
"While the Registry is not yet fully populated it is already changing the game for us. Without the Registry records linking the seized firearms to the suspect licence holders, the flow-on activity arguably would not have occurred."
Executive Director of the Te Tari Pureke - Firearms Safety Authority, Angela Brazier, says we are seeing the supply of black-market firearms being disrupted because of the the Firearms Registry.
So far, a total of 66,777 licence holders have registered on the firearms register, which equates to 29% of the active licence holder population.
"Police are now chasing down where registered firearms are supposed to be, and asking why firearms registered to a licence holder are not in their possession. The Registry is the critical connection point to all of this and is closing a gap we've had in the system."
