Five men face a range of firearms charges following a series of search warrants in the Nelson area in recent days. 

The charges relate to the unlawful possession of firearms, dishonesty, and offences against the Firearms Registry. 

One man also faces charges including intentionally not registering firearms, incorrect storage of firearms, and neglect of a child. 

This is in relation to the discovery at a search warrant in June this year of three loaded firearms located leaning up against a wall in a bedroom containing a child’s cot. 

All the firearms had rounds chambered and safety switches disengaged, meaning the only action required to discharge the firearms was to pull the trigger. Four of the five men charged are firearms license holders, and the fifth previously had his firearms license revoked. 

The investigation as a whole related to the historic diversion of firearms – meaning, firearms purchased legally but then ‘diverted’ into the possession of people without firearms licenses. 

Police analysis of the historical firearms sales data of a firearms retailer identified a series of suspicious sales of Alfa Carbine rifles. 

The Alfa Carbine rifle has been identified as a firearm commonly diverted due to the ease with which it can be converted into a pistol, and is highly sought after by criminal groups and gangs. 

Two of the men charged are, or were, employed by a firearms retailer and used their position to facilitate the diversion of firearms. Most of the offending took place during 2021 and 2022. 

It is alleged one of the methods for diversion used by the retail firearms insiders was to fraudulently list the sales of Alfa Carbines against the name of a legitimate licence holder without their knowledge, but then provide the firearms to unlicenced people. On this occasion, three Alfa Carbines were listed against that firearms licence holder.

On another occasion, one of the retail firearms insiders paid $9,700 in cash and used an associate’s firearms licence to register the sale of five Alfa Carbines. 

Overall, in this investigation police allege to have identified at least 19 Alfa Carbines purchased and diverted between October 2021 and May 2022. Detective Inspector Albie Alexander says: “It is extremely disappointing to see that the efforts of Police, Te Tari Pūreke, and the wider firearms community being undermined by the irresponsible actions of a few individuals, particularly those industry insiders within dealers and in positions of trust. 

“This further demonstrates the need for firearms retailers to remain vigilant and ensure they are meeting their obligations, along with the need for a register so Police and Te Tare Pūreke can trace back this unlawful activity.” 

DI Alexander says the requirements around safe storage of firearms are common sense, and are there to prevent accidents and harm. 

“On a different day the police attendance at this address, rather than to execute a search warrant, could have been in response to a terrible and needless tragedy,” DI Alexander says.

“While the majority of the licenced firearms community are diligent and acting responsibly, unfortunately there are still those individuals who fail to meet the required standards of the most basic firearms safety. Firearms safety, particularly in the home with young children, has a small margin of error.” 

This investigation further illustrates the need for Police to continue to regulate and manage the risk and harm of people who are not fit and proper, possessing firearms.

The arrested men and their charges are:

• A 22-year-old charged with unlawful possession of a firearm x 6, dishonestly using a document x 2 and failing to carry out obligations in relation to a computer search. 

• A 28-year-old charged with Unlawful possession of a firearm, dishonestly using a document, conspiring to defeat the course of justice, conspiring to sell firearms to unlicenced persons, intentionally not registering firearms, unlawful possession of prohibited magazines and neglect of a child. 

• A 33-year-old man charged with unlawful possession of a firearm and dishonestly using a document.

 • A 49-year-old man charged with unlawful possession of a firearm x 5, unlawful possession of a prohibited magazine x 2, unlawful possession of ammunition and failing to carry out obligations in relation to a computer search. 

• A 60-year-old man charged with conspiring to defeat the course of justice and conspiring to sell firearms to unlicenced persons.

All five will be appearing in the Nelson District Court on Monday 12 August 2024.

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