Ola Thorsen/US Embassy via AP, File)
FBI Director Kash Patel presented some of New Zealand’s top law enforcement officials with gifts of 3D-printed firearms, which were later disposed of because they violated the country’s gun laws, the Associated Press revealed Tuesday.
It all started back in July, when Patel visited New Zealand to open the FBI’s first field office in the Southwest Pacific country.
As a token of his appreciation, he presented officials from the New Zealand police and Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS) with a gift of 3D-printed handguns that were inoperable, the AP reported.
But New Zealand’s strict gun laws prohibit the possession of a pistol, operable or inoperable, without a special license beyond a regular gun license. It was unclear if those receiving the guns had such a license.
In addition, even inactive firearms are treated like working weapons if they can be manipulated to fire live rounds, which authorities determined was the case after a review.
Therefore, the guns had to go.
“To ensure compliance with firearms laws, I instructed police to retain and destroy them,” New Zealand’s Police Commissioner Richard Chambers said in a statement to the AP.
A spokesperson for Patel did not comment when contacted by the AP.
The post Kash Patel Gave New Zealand 3D-Printed Guns in Violation of Local Laws: AP Report first appeared on Mediaite.
