Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
A man has been charged for having an unregistered shotgun in what is the first case of its kind.
The man was a licensed firearm holder and police allege in the year he had registered a rifle into the Firearms Registry a few days after buying it.
Police conducted search warrants at multiple addresses in relation to unlawful possession of firearms last week. The shotgun was found at the man's address.
"Purchasing a firearm is what is known as an 'activating circumstance' for the Firearms Registry, which means a licence holder then has 30 days from the purchase to enter all of the firearms in their possession into the registry," police said in a statement.
"The shotgun found at the address had not been registered as required."
The 49-year-old man will appear in the Manukau District Court on six charges of unlawful possession of ammunition related to alleged straw purchases of ammunition he had made on behalf of associates involved in the cannabis trade.
"Subsequently, he has been charged under the Arms Act for failing to provide information for the Firearms Registry in accordance with Section 94 of the Arms Act 1983."
"This is the first prosecution of its kind," Te Tari Pūreke - Firearms Safety Authority executive director Angela Brazier said.
"It demonstrates the positive impact the registry can make on linking firearms to individual licence holders.
"If any licence holder is found with a firearm that ought to be in the registry, but for whatever reason they might have tried to circumvent these obligations and keep firearms invisible in the community, they can expect to face the consequences."
Failing to provide information for the registry without a reasonable excuse carries a maximum penalty of a $10,000 fine.
