NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Comanchero gangster arrested after police chase stolen ute driving on wrong side of road, find arsenal of 3D printed guns and drugs

Jared Savage
By Jared Savage
Investigative Journalist·NZ Herald·
19 Aug, 2023 03:25 AM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

A 35-year-old patched member of the Comancheros motorcycle gang has been charged with possession of a haul of 3D printed semiautomatic rifles. Photo / Supplied

A 35-year-old patched member of the Comancheros motorcycle gang has been charged with possession of a haul of 3D printed semiautomatic rifles. Photo / Supplied

An arsenal of 3D-printed semi-automatic rifles was found inside a stolen vehicle after police allegedly spotted a patched Comanchero gang member driving on the wrong side of the road.

Methamphetamine, illegal magazines and ammunition, another semiautomatic rifle, and a .38 Special revolver were also found in the Ford Ranger after police gave chase in Manukau earlier this month.

The alarming discovery was made after a police patrol car saw the ute speeding on the wrong side of Lambie Drive around 10.40pm on August 3, and signalled with lights and sirens for the driver to stop.

But the stolen ute allegedly accelerated away and continued to “drive recklessly” so the patrol unit decided to not pursue.

Instead, the Eagle helicopter tracked the Ford Ranger from the air as it drove through Papatoetoe, including a road which had been closed for road works.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The ute was spotted outside a home in Margaret Rd, where police officers arrested the alleged driver nearby.

“Following a search of the vehicle, five prohibited centrefire firearms were discovered. Four of these firearms were 3D printed,” Senior Sergeant Anton Maisey confirmed in a statement to the Herald on Sunday.

“Around 100 grams of methamphetamine was seized from the vehicle. Police also located a pistol, as well as prohibited magazines and various quantities of ammunition.”

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The 35-year-old, who is a patched member of the Comancheros motorcycle gang, is due to appear in Manukau District Court next week on a raft of firearms, drugs and driving charges.

Drugs and guns go hand-in-hand in the criminal underworld, although the discovery of such a large haul of 3D-printed firearms will be of interest to the police.

Prosecutions for manufacturing 3D-printed firearms are relatively rare in New Zealand, although in recent years, police officers have started to find the homemade guns more frequently.

The technology of 3D printing means the plans to manufacture firearms almost entirely out of plastic - save for a few metal components - are widely available online and make it easy to circumvent the laws restricting the sale and purchase of firearms.

In recent years, the police have had a renewed focus on the supply and distribution of firearms as the arrival of Australian gangs such as the Comancheros and Mongols have reignited tensions in the criminal world.

Four 3D-printed semiautomatic rifles were found in a stolen vehicle allegedly driven by a patched member of the Comancheros. Photo / NZ Police
Four 3D-printed semiautomatic rifles were found in a stolen vehicle allegedly driven by a patched member of the Comancheros. Photo / NZ Police

A specialist group of detectives, the Firearms Investigations Team, was formed two years ago and it has success identifying “straw buyer” networks and 3D-printed gun manufacturers.

One of the targets, Wayne Te Awawa John Clarke, was recently sentenced to more than five years in prison.

The long-time gang member, better known as Wayniac, admitted attempting to manufacture FGC-9 semiautomatic pistols (which stands for F*** Gun Control), as well as drug dealing and threatening to kill.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

While 3D-printed guns are relatively rare at the moment, police anticipate that homemade firearms will become more common in the near future.

This is because over time it will become harder for organised criminals to obtain firearms from licenced firearms owners - known as retail diversion or straw buying - now that the national firearms register is in place.

As well as 3D-printed firearms, other avenues could include gun-smuggling by sea, targeted burglaries of gun owners, or “smash-and-grab” ram raids on dealers.

There is also the likelihood of “guns for hire”, where licence holders retain physical possession of their firearms but rent them to criminals.

There are also an unknown number of “grey market” firearms in New Zealand.

These are firearms purchased by gun licence holders, which were then banned after the Aramoana massacre and the Christchurch terror attack, but not handed over during the government buy-back period.

No one knows how many exist, but gun lobby groups estimated there could be hundreds of thousands, which could then easily enter the black market.


Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Latest from New Zealand

New Zealand

Upston on her former press secretary

live
Politics

Watch - 'Scribbles on his face': Peters attacks TPM from PM's seat in House

05 Jun 04:24 AM
New Zealand

Meghan shares video of her twerking while pregnant with Princess Lilibet

Why Cambridge is the new home of future-focused design

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Upston on her former press secretary

Upston on her former press secretary

Social Development Minister Louise Upston responds to allegations concerning her former press secretary Michael Forbes. Video / Mark Mitchell

Watch - 'Scribbles on his face': Peters attacks TPM from PM's seat in House
live

Watch - 'Scribbles on his face': Peters attacks TPM from PM's seat in House

05 Jun 04:24 AM
Meghan shares video of her twerking while pregnant with Princess Lilibet

Meghan shares video of her twerking while pregnant with Princess Lilibet

'An issue for all women': Brothel madam on alleged recording by PM's former staffer

'An issue for all women': Brothel madam on alleged recording by PM's former staffer

05 Jun 04:11 AM
Clean water fuelling Pacific futures
sponsored

Clean water fuelling Pacific futures

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP