A black market for stolen guns has emerged in Waikato, police fear. Already this year, there has been 17 firearms-related burglaries resulting in more than 75 guns being stolen from across the district.
Detective sergeant Andrew Mortimore of the Waikato tactical crime unit today warned that victims' guns are becoming "hot items" with a behind the scenes commodities market.
"There's no one isolated area where these burglaries are occurring," he said. The most recent incident saw ten firearms stolen from a Matamata property over the holiday weekend while the week before two Aria homes were targeted.
Other targeted areas include properties in Raglan, Te Kauwhata, Kihikihi, Glenn Massey, Waitoa, Kaihere, Waihou, Waharoa, Matamata, Thames and Te Puninga and three burglaries in Hamilton."
"So far the greatest number taken from one address was the 10 from Matamata but just one firearm falling into the wrong hands could lead to tragedy," Mr Mortimore said.