Australian Police Arrest Man with M2 .50 Cal Machine Gun
A combined operation between Australian Border Force and the Western Australia Police has arrested a man for having more than 20 illegally owned firearms, including a .50 calibre machine gun. Australian Border Force officers intercepted a package from Slovenia carrying firearms parts, this led them to a 23-year-old man in Perth, officers from the Border Force and the local Western Australia police then raided the man’s home and found a cache of weapons and ammunition.
The working parts of what appears to be an AN/M2 .50 calibre Browning heavy machine gun (possibly just fitted with an AN/M2 barrel) were discovered along with several spare barrels. In addition, four shotguns, an SKS, three other rifles (type not disclosed), 11 handguns including revolvers and semi-automatic pistols, and 19 suppressors.
Vesna Watt, acting ABF Superintendent Investigations WA, said “working together, WA Police and the ABF have taken these dangerous weapons off the street and out of the community. People who think it is ok to attempt to import firearms without the appropriate permits and permissions should know we will stop them and they will face the full force of the law.”
In addition to the firearms, a quantity of Meth was found along with plans for building firearms and a large amount of ammunition were found including: .50 BMG, 12 gauge, and a variety of pistol and rifle ammunition including 5.56×45, 7.62×39, and 7.62x51mm. Detective Sergeant Fraser Mainland from Cannington Detectives said in a Border Force press release that “there is no legitimate reason why someone would need weapons of this type. Many of the firearms seized had been altered or manufactured and would have posed a significant risk to anyone that handled them.”
Detective Sergeant Mainland continued “Illicit firearms are an ongoing concern for WA Police Force in our community. Removing illicit firearms from our community is a priority for all officers and we encourage anyone with information regarding these weapons to come forward.”
The 23-year-old man was charged with multiple counts of ownership of an unlicensed firearm, drug possession, and possession of prohibited weapons.
Managing Editor: TheFirearmBlog.com & Overt Defense.com. Matt is a British historian specialising in small arms development and military history. He has written several books and for a variety of publications in both the US and UK. Matt is also runs The Armourer's Bench, a video series on historically significant small arms. Here on TFB he covers product and current military small arms news. Reach Matt at: matt@thefirearmblog.com
More by Matthew Moss
![[NRAAM 2024] The NEW Taurus TX22 TORO is the best one yet](https://cdn-fastly.thefirearmblog.com/media/2024/06/04/0643116/nraam-2024-the-new-taurus-tx22-toro-is-the-best-one-yet.jpg?size=350x220)
Comments
Join the conversation
Did this man really expect the rozzer to allow him to own that .50 mg? Let alone trying to get a permit to have one.
This is False News.... Western Australia has Australia's strictest gun laws... Theres no way in the world, Anyone there could have Illegal Guns, They are all prohibited items...