Nearly 500 firearms have been seized from a property in Southland in a discovery police described as “shocking” and one of the largest seizures of weaponry in New Zealand’s history.
The bust, which occurred in Gore earlier this month, was “by far” the largest to ever occur in Southland, said Area Commander Inspector Mike Bowman.
“It’s shocking to see so many firearms unsecured… the scale of it is concerning.”
Red flags were raised with officials due to the man’s purchasing history, Bowman said.
“Through the Firearms Registry, the Firearms Safety Authority was able to establish the man had purchased multiple firearms since 2023 — and not all were registered as they should have been after purchase.”
Bowman said, in buying a firearm, the man was required to register old firearms already in his possession.
“We allege that did not happen.”
These concerns led officers to the man’s home in Gore on June 6 to serve a notice of temporary suspension.
This order allowed police to retain a firearms licence holder’s licence and uplift any firearm’s in their possession.
In total, 478 firearms were seized, including five pistols, some that may be prohibited firearms, and some that may be restricted weapons for which the man was not licensed. Significant quantities of ammunition and firearm parts were also recovered.
Just six of the 478 weapons were registered in the man’s name. While some were locked in safes, a large number were unsecured.
Multiple police vehicles were required to transport the firearms from the property. The firearms, ammunition, and parts would be held securely until the investigation and any subsequent legal action were completed.
“It’s still early days in the investigation and we have a lot of work to do before we get to that point,” Bowman said.
Firearms registry credited in seizure
Firearms Safety Authority executive director Angela Brazier said the case highlighted the value of the Firearms Registry.
“Information shared by police enabled us to quickly suspend the man’s licence for failing to comply with his registry obligations. Once his licence was suspended, police could rapidly respond to remove this considerable number of unlawfully held firearms.”
Brazier pointed out the majority of firearms licence holders were “good law-abiding people”.
“The review of the Firearms Registry released in May confirmed that diversion of firearms to the black market remains a threat to public safety and the registry mitigates that risk.
“I acknowledge all licence holders who have filled in the registry and are doing their bit to make it harder for criminals and other unlicensed people to access firearms.”
There were more than 86,000 active licence holders registered, or around 38% of active licence holders.
Around 29% of those did so proactively without waiting for a legal requirement.
More than 425,000 firearms were currently listed in the registry.
