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Police station burglary: 15yrs of gun ownership details in hands of criminals

Author
George Block, NZ Herald,
Publish Date
Wed, 22 Jun 2022, 10:27AM
The burglary happened at the old Auckland police station in Vincent St, now disused.
The burglary happened at the old Auckland police station in Vincent St, now disused.

Police station burglary: 15yrs of gun ownership details in hands of criminals

Author
George Block, NZ Herald,
Publish Date
Wed, 22 Jun 2022, 10:27AM

Auckland gun owners who dealt with their local arms office any time from 2003 to 2018 could have had their details fall into the hands of criminals, police have announced.

Earlier this month, the Herald revealed that personal details of firearms owners, including their names and addresses, were among a trove of documents allegedly stolen from the old Auckland City police station in Vincent St.

Police have launched a major investigation into the privacy bungle, which they are describing as "extremely disappointing".

At the time the police said the stolen documents related to people in the Auckland city centre area who renewed or got a new licence between 2015 and 2017.

Now, in a public notice, police have announced anyone who dealt with the Auckland City District Arms Office from 2003 to 2018 is potentially affected by the breach.

The documents contained names, addresses and other details of firearms licence holders and could serve as a shopping list for criminals eager to get their hands on lawfully obtained weapons.

They were recovered, along with expired police pepper spray, following a search warrant in Mt Albert in May.

Three people have been charged in relation to the alleged burglary.

"Police are extremely disappointed this has happened.

"The public can be assured an investigation is currently under way into how this occurred."

Police have established a dedicated 0800 line for firearms owners who wish to discuss the incident, 0800 462 379 along with the email address [email protected]

More to come.

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