All of the weapons safety switches were disengaged and contained rounds.
“The only action required to discharge the firearms was to pull the trigger,” a police spokesperson said.
Detective Inspector Albie Alexander said the outcome could have been much worse.
“On a different day the police attendance at this address, rather than to execute a search warrant, could have been in response to a terrible and needless tragedy,” he said.
Police said in a statement today that the investigation was related to the “historic diversion of firearms” – meaning firearms purchased legally before being “diverted” to people without firearms licences.
Police identified a series of suspicious sales of Alfa Carbine rifles.
Alfa Carbines are highly sought after by criminal groups and gangs, police said. They can be easily converted into a pistol and are commonly diverted for that reason.
Most of the alleged offending took place during 2021-2022.
Two of the accused were “insiders”, police say, who were employed by a firearms retailer and used their position to facilitate the diversions.
It’s alleged one of the ways the insiders diverted the weapons was to “fraudulently list the sales of Alfa Carbines against the name of a legitimate licence holder without their knowledge” before providing the firearms to unlicensed people.
On one occasion, one of the insiders is alleged to have paid $9700 cash and used an associated firearms licence to register the sale of five Alfa Carbines.
Overall, police believe they have identified at least 19 Alfa Carbines purchased and diverted between October 2021 and May 2022.
Alexander said it is disappointing to see the efforts of police, Te Tari Pūreke and the firearms community being undermined.
“This demonstrates the need for firearms retailers … to ensure they’re meeting their obligations, along with a need for a register so police … can trace back to this unlawful activity,” Alexander said.
All five men will be appearing in the Nelson District Court on Monday.
