Man denies firearms charges: 'I've done nothing wrong'

A man has denied supplying 241 firearms to an unlicensed person. File photo

A man has denied supplying 241 firearms to an unlicensed person after an armed police raid in east Auckland uncovered the cache.

Firearms dealer Clive Jordan, 61, also faces a charge of unlawfully possessing two canisters of tear gas.

He conceded the allegations sounded "quite extreme", but said he would defend them "vigorously".

When Jordan was moving house last year he needed to find somewhere to store the weapons and had to look no further than his neighbour Murray Kerr, who had earlier decided to install a large concrete and steel, fire-proof safe in his house at the suggestion of a friend.

"I had a bloody big safe underground and said you're welcome to use it on the proviso there is no ammunition," Mr Kerr said.

"It's like Fort Knox."

The defendant said moving the firearms had been done with the approval of the police, despite the fact Mr Kerr was unlicensed.

The premises were inspected several times, he said, but in December last year armed police descended on the property early one morning.

"[They] turned up with fully-automatic rifles and scared the s*** out of my wife," Mr Kerr said.

"It was like something out of a movie."

Officers photographed the weapons and returned them to the safe, and eventually Jordan took them back, he said.

So he was surprised when nearly a year later charges were laid at Manukau District Court.

"I've done nothing wrong," Jordan said.

He entered not guilty pleas to the two charges this week and will be back in court in February.

Both supplying firearms to an unlicensed person and unlawful possession of restricted weapons carry a maximum penalty of three years in jail.

The latter charge could see Jordan fined up to $4000.

Police said they would not comment on a case before the court.