Convicted drug dealer Kishor Chandra Singh used ‘straw buyers’ to obtain guns, then sold guns to gangs

Two of the Alfa Carbine rifles cut down to pistols were found in the possession of Kishor Chandra Singh during Operation Carbine in 2022. Photo / Supplied Nz Police to Jared Savage

A career criminal recruited a network of “straw buyers” to purchase nearly $50,000 of firearms and ammunition in just two months, which were then sold on the black market to gangs.

As a former member of the Hells Angels with a serious criminal history, including drug dealing, Kishor Chandra Singh did not have a licence to own firearms.

But he enlisted the help of three men in the Hawke’s Bay to legally purchase 21 Alfa Carbine rifles, as well as ammunition, from the Gun City store in Napier.

The guns have become highly desirable in the criminal community because they can be easily cut down to pistols.

On top of the retail cost of $47,000 for the guns and ammunition, Singh paid the “straw buyers” $500 for each Alfa Carbine bought on his behalf.

He then sold those firearms to members of the Mongrel Mob.

Some of the guns were also delivered to Auckland during the gang war between the Killer Beez and the Tribesmen last year, according to conversations intercepted during Operation Carbine.

The covert police inquiry by the specialist Firearms Investigation Team led to the arrest of Singh and six others in August last year.

Police found $50,000, around 10kg of cannabis, and two of the shortened Alfa pistols inside a storage unit rented by Singh.

A cut-down semi-automatic rifle with two large magazines, loaded with ammunition, was found in his car.

Singh - who was jailed for eight years in 2012 for supplying methamphetamine - has since pleaded guilty to a variety of firearm charges. He is due to be sentenced in the Napier District Court in May.

Kishor Singh in the Napier High Court in 2012 after being convicted of serious methamphetamine dealing offences.

Two of the Alfa Carbine rifles cut down to pistols were found in the possession of Kishor Chandra Singh during Operation Carbine in 2022. Photo / Supplied

Police believe Operation Carbine is the perfect example of how firearms end up in the hands of criminals.

For many years, the police had believed most firearms in criminal hands were stolen from legitimate gun owners. This point frustrated some in the firearms community, who said there was little data to back up the claim and instead believed that organised crime groups smuggled guns from overseas.

But the police now say that a nationwide crackdown on illegal firearms has identified retail diversion or “straw buyers” - a tactic where licensed firearms owners sell guns to criminals - as a much bigger problem than previously thought.

Under the Arms Act, retailers such as Gun City must keep records of gun sales but gun owners wanting to sell their firearms to someone else in private sales do not.

The only legal obligation on sellers is to look at the prospective buyer’s firearms licence. There is no requirement to check whether the licence was valid, or even keep a record of the buyer’s details.

“It’s very, very simple. We’re seeing how easy it is for one individual with a firearms licence to create a great deal of mayhem,” Detective Senior Sergeant Mike Beal said in a previous interview.

The officer-in-charge of the recently established firearms squad, Beal said the bulk of guns recovered by police can be traced back to a legitimate retail sale - rather than stolen or smuggled - then diverted to unlicensed individuals.

“There’s a lot of rumours around where gangs get their guns from: importing them in bulk by sea, manufacturing them, burglaries and so on,” said Beal.

“But the vast majority of what we’re seeing so far is retail diversion. The criminal element doesn’t need to look any further, importing etc, because diversion is such a simple option.”

However, the “straw buyer” pipeline will be squeezed when a national register comes into force soon.

From June, each individual firearm will need to be registered to a licence holder. The loophole which allowed the private sale of firearms without recording the details of the new owner will also be closed.

The project is being led by Superintendent Richard Wilson, who conceded that in the past the police have not fulfilled their obligations under the Arms Act as effectively as they should.

While the new law and regulatory changes will make diversion of firearms more difficult, Wilson expects organised crime to explore other avenues to find firepower.

That could lead to gun-smuggling by sea, or manufacture (either by 3D printers or assembly of imported parts), targeted burglaries of gun owners or “smash-and-grab” ram raids on firearms dealers.

The stricter regulations and focus on the illegal supply of firearms will take time to bear fruit.

As well as the firepower already in the black market, there is also an unknown number of “grey market” firearms in NZ. These are firearms purchased by gun licence holders, which were then banned, but not handed over during the Government buyback period.

No one knows how many “grey market” firearms exist but gun lobby groups estimated there could be hundreds of thousands, which could then enter the black market through unscrupulous owners.

Beal and Wilson previously urged anyone thinking of diverting firearms for money or as a favour to a friend, to think about the unintended consequences.

While firearms are mostly used for genuine purposes in New Zealand, such as pest control or hunting to put food on the table, the police officers said society has changed dramatically in recent years.

Conflict between rival gangs had caused a great deal of harm to communities, but firearms were also a risk in family abuse, as well as mass shootings driven by racist or political ideology.

As previously reported by the Herald on Sunday, the semi-automatic rifle used to murder Constable Matt Hunt in June 2020 was a diverted firearm.

“Our message is that people need to trust the system and there are reasons why the police decline a firearms licence which [anyone considering diversion] might not know about,” said Beal.

“Once someone diverts a firearm, they’ve got absolutely no idea where it’s going to end up. No one wants to have on their conscience the fact that a firearm they sold ended up contributing to a tragedy.”

The military-style semi-automatic rifle used to kill Constable Matthew Hunt in Massey in June, 2020 was purchased legally and diverted into criminal hands. Photo / Craig Kapitan