-Caveat Lector- ...only outlaws will have guns. So goes an ancient bumper sticker. Here's the proof, from Australia. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,2676038%255E421,00.html Guns smuggled in the mail By CHRISTOPHER DORE, TRUDY HARRIS and MARK WHITTAKER 24aug01 HIGH-POWERED guns are being routinely mailed from overseas in pieces and reassembled by Australian criminals, making a mockery of efforts to control firearms and limit violent crime. Police officers have been told to be on alert for hand guns that have been transformed into powerful machine pistols using imported parts that could be delivered through the regular mail system. A memo to NSW police officers warns that hand guns seized during a major investigation of weapons-trafficking can fire up to 20 rounds in seconds. A police commissioner has alerted The Australian's Dossier team to the ease of skirting Australian gun laws with imported parts, sometimes as small as an envelope, stating: "You don't need too much imagination to import these things into the country. "If you said, `here's a bunch of Ford Falcon parts', most Customs inspectors wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a carburettor and a part for a gun." The number of guns and their parts undermines the Howard Government's strengthening of firearms laws after the Port Arthur massacre in 1996. State, territory and commonwealth governments only recently moved to tighten hand-gun laws, restricting their importation, sale and movement around the country. Shootings have dramatically increased recently, doubling in the past two years to about 100 in NSW alone. "One of the problems is that the gangsters ... are very young and, whereas a few years ago they were rolling people in parks and taking their Reeboks and mobile phones, now they are shooting them," one officer said. National Crime Authority general manager of operations Adrien Whidett said cheap parts were imported from South-East Asia and then sold for hiked prices after being reassembled. Mr Whidett told The Australian some gun parts were now plastic, making detection even harder. "There are a lot of counterfeit firearms made in Asia of popular weapons that the Americans churn out. They are probably not as sophisticated, but they kill nevertheless," Mr Whidett said. The NCA's concerns are echoed by NSW Crime Commission chairman Phillip Bradley, who said gun-smuggling was becoming more financially attractive. "The mark-up is such that it is more profitable than drugs and less risky because of the penalties involved," he said. Last week's warning in NSW Police Weekly said Glock pistols were seized during the investigation into gun trafficking. The pistols had a slide with buttons inserted in the end -- holding down the lock that stops the weapon firing automatically. "They'll put 14 rounds into you in two seconds," one senior officer said. "It's scary stuff." The NSW Firearms Trafficking Unit has seized more than 440 guns since 1999, including 151 pistols, four machine guns and a rocket launcher. © 2001 The Australian <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
