A man posed as a glazier while breaking into a Dunedin property to steal an arsenal of firearms and ammunition, a court has heard.
Raymond Jason Mosley (39), of Dunedin, admitted a slew of firearms charges when he appeared in the District Court this morning.
They stemmed from a high-profile burglary of the Maitland St home of a gun club member on October 25 last year.
Allegedly stolen from the unsecured cabinet at the property were numerous pistols, 25,000 rounds of ammunition and three military-style semi-automatic rifles with scopes.
Police have been tight-lipped about the circumstances behind the burglary, but new details were revealed in court today.
Mosley found out about the cache of weapons at the home after his friend's girlfriend had been there “in relation to work”.
The next day, he and a co-accused - who cannot be named - pretended to be repairing a glass panel on the house's front door and gained access.
Within days, the co-defendant was allegedly in contact with senior Hells Angels in the North Island with a view to them buying the weapons, the court heard.
The Bandidos motorcycle gang were also informed by the accused about the firearms and a couple of patched members were flown down to Dunedin on November 7.
Grant Andrew Latimer was one of the men sent down. The car the 57-year-old was driving was stopped by police the following day and officers found a pistol on him.
Meanwhile, another search was conducted at a Waitati address which turned up three more firearms and ammunition.
Latimer pleaded guilty to four counts of possessing a weapon and four of receiving, as well as possessing ammunition. He was jailed for 20 months earlier this year.
Today Mosley also admitted contacting a 25-year-old Dunedin woman about storing a pistol at her Caversham home.
Police found the weapon there along with more than 100 rounds of ammunition. She is due to come before the court next month.
Mosley was collared by police when a car in Timaru was stopped on an unrelated matter. Officers found a meth pipe, 0.32gm of the class-A drug and 17.4gm of cannabis in his possession.
Mosley also admitted those drug charges in court today and entered guilty pleas to two counts of breaching previous sentences.
He was remanded in custody and will be sentenced in April.
- By Rob Kidd
