Law & Order
- Police discovered nearly 500 firearms, many unsecured and unregistered, at a Gore property
- Only six weapons were registered to the licence holder whose purchasing history raised concerns
- Investigation will examine whether the weapons were intended for sale or criminal use
Police in Gore have seized 478 firearms from a local man's property, in what is being described as one of the largest gun seizures in New Zealand history. The discovery, made on Friday 6 June, came after concerns were raised over the man’s firearm purchasing patterns.
Officers visited the man’s home to issue a temporary suspension notice, which allowed them to remove both his firearms and firearms licence. What they found was a staggering stockpile: rifles, shotguns, pistols, and parts—many of them not locked away, and only six registered to the man.
Ten Arrested After Major Southland Drug Raids
* Police arrested ten people and laid over seventy drug-related charges after multiple search warrants * Officers seized $16,000 in cash, drugs, ammunition, and drug equipment across Southland and Otago * Investigations under Operation Strata will continue with more arrests and charges expected soon Ten people have been arrested and are facing
Mike Sanford
“It’s shocking to see so many firearms unsecured… the scale of it is concerning,” said Southland Area Commander Inspector Mike Bowman. He confirmed the operation marked “by far” the largest seizure ever seen in the Southern District.
Some of the seized firearms are believed to be prohibited or restricted weapons, and the man was not licenced to hold them. Large quantities of ammunition and firearm parts were also removed from the property. At this stage, no charges have been laid, but police have not ruled them out.
“We’ll be looking at why the weapons weren’t registered or stored properly, and what was the purpose of such a vast collection,” said Inspector Bowman. He added that police do not yet know whether the firearms were intended for criminal use, but “a number of enquiries are being made.”
The investigation was sparked by unusual activity flagged by the Firearms Registry. According to Police, the man had been purchasing multiple weapons since 2023 and had failed to register older ones already in his possession.
“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,” Inspector Bowman said. “In buying a firearm, the man was required to register older firearms already in his possession, and we allege that did not happen.”
Firearms Safety Authority Executive Director Angela Brazier credited the Registry and the cooperation between her office and Police for the swift response. “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."
Currently, more than 425,000 firearms and over 86,000 active licence holders are listed in the Registry. Brazier stressed that most firearm owners are law-abiding citizens and that the Registry plays a key role in preventing illegal weapon diversion.
All seized weapons and parts are now in Police custody as the investigation continues.