Rotorua and Taupo's night-vision goggles haven't been stolen from the United States, says the area's chief pilot, John Funnell.
Goggles used by the Northland Emergency Services Trust are being checked to see if they are among 12 sets stolen from the US military and sold over the internet.
The goggles are
used by search and rescue teams on board rescue helicopters and have played crucial roles in saving people's lives.
Two pairs were sold to the Northland trust's chairman, John Bain, who says he did not know the gear was obtained illegally but was still waiting for official documentation on them.
Mr Bain bought four more sets which he sold to helicopter business Helipro and the Taranaki Rescue Helicopter service. He refused to say how much commission he had made from the two private sales but said he was confident he hadn't broken the law.
Rotorua is to get the use of night-vision goggles in six weeks. They have been used in Taupo for about 15 years but its search and rescue team has just got the latest model.
Mr Funnell, the chief pilot for the Philips Search and Rescue Trust which oversees the Rotorua and Taupo rescue helicopters, told the Daily Post yesterday Rotorua and Taupo's night-vision goggles had been bought directly from ITT - an American company that manufactures them.
It had been a "hard and involved" process that took two-and-a-half years.
The goggles will be a huge asset for the Rotorua Search and Rescue Squad once they are operating.
"They make a hell of a difference. It's like operating in daylight, it's just magic," Mr Funnell said.
Northland's goggles were bought from Auckland distributor Will Jeffery.
A Civil Aviation Authority inquiry is tracking the high-tech goggles and Prime Minister Helen Clark has established legal channels for buying the goggles.
US Air Force Sergeant Leonard Schneck allegedly stole AVS-9 OMNI 6 aviator's night-vision imaging systems from a Florida army base he worked at and then shipped them to Aucklander Will Jeffery who sold them to Mr Bain.
Schneck and his mother, Jerri Stringer, face charges of selling the goggles, flight helmets and global positioning equipment during the past two years to buyers in New Zealand, Belgium and Germany.
