Post by RedWest on Apr 6, 2009 21:45:37 GMT 10
Sydney Morning Herald
Article by Arjun Ramachandran
April 3, 2009
Sniper rifle' seized in Sydney arms raid
Among a stockpile of illegal weapons seized by police was a sniper rifle so powerful it could bring down a jet or penetrate a bulletproof car over two kilometres away, experts say.
A sniper standing on Sydney's Centrepoint Tower using the .50 calibre rifle could take out the engine of a car near the Opera House or stop a bus on the Anzac Bridge, such was its potency, they said.
Police yesterday showed off the weapons stash, which also included a Russian-designed AK-47 assault rifle, a Colt AR-15 semi-automatic assault rifle, a WWII Austin Mark 1 machine gun and a number of submachine guns.
Superintendent Arthur Katsogiannis, from the Firearms and Organised Crime Squad, said police did not yet know where the weapons had come from or how they had been brought into country.
He agreed they were rare weapons but did not know whether there were other similar weapons on the streets.
The haul was part of a long-running sting in which undercover officers allegedly bought illegal firearms from a targeted supplier.
A Sydney University gun expert, Phillip Alpers, said the seizure of the sniper's rifle was the most worrying.
"The sniper's rifle is the one that the US Secret Service is really worried about knocking off a president one day," he told ABC Radio today.
"You can hit a person at anything up to two miles distance if you're trained. The bullet will go clean through a manhole cover, a light armoured personnel vehicle.
"It can disable a jet aircraft at one or two miles distance."
Brian Hartigan, editor of military magazine Contact, told the Australian Financial Review in December of the .50 calibre sniper rifle's devastating firepower and lethal range.
"Two thousand metres is a hell of a long way," he said.
"To put that in perspective, a sniper on the roof of Sydney Tower in the CBD could easily be expected (assuming there is actually a line of sight between these points) to take out the engine block of a bullet-proof car parked at the Opera House f orecourt (1500m), or a VIP limo visiting Garden Island docks (1650m), or stop a bus on Anzac Bridge," he said
"Imagine how difficult it would be to figure out where a shot like that came from, even if the shooter was standing in the open."
.50 calibre rifles can be legally purchased by civilians in most US states. One manufacturer sells a .50 calibre rifles for about $12,400.
Gun expert Ron Owens said any long-range rifle with a telescope could technically be described as a sniper rifle.
But many of the weapons listed in the haul of illegal weapons presented by police yesterday were typical of those owned by collectors or sporting shooters, and not necessarily only for criminal use.
"An illegal firearm is anything they deem illegal on the day ... [for example] they could suspend my licence and suddenly every weapon in my collection could become illegal,'' he said.
Local sporting gun clubs said it was not uncommon for shooters to hold licences for rifles capable of firing accurately distances of more than a kilometre.
"The distance that target shooters go up to in Australia is 1200 metres,'' said a spokesman for the Sporting Shooters Association of Australia.
"But generally speaking, for target shooting ranges are only approved [to use guns with calibres] up to 9 millimetres.''
He also stressed sporting shooters "don't have access to, or can go anywhere near anything that looks or smells like a military firearm''.
New South Wales Rifle Association chairman John Fitzgerald also said its members had guns that could fire over a kilometre, but did not believe anyone could legally - under NSW firearms laws - own a rifle as high as .50 calibre.
In the US, the Fifty Caliber Shooters Association is set up to "advance the sporting uses of the .50 [calibre]''.
Police also raided two Sydney properties this week, seizing 14 illegal firearms.
A 59-year-old Elanora Heights man was charged with 23 unregistered firearms offences and given bail to face Manly Local Court on Thursday.
A 62-year-old man was remanded in custody after a raid on a property in Noble Street, Concord, allegedly uncovered 3600 rounds of 7.62 calibre ammunition.
Article by Arjun Ramachandran
April 3, 2009
Sniper rifle' seized in Sydney arms raid
Among a stockpile of illegal weapons seized by police was a sniper rifle so powerful it could bring down a jet or penetrate a bulletproof car over two kilometres away, experts say.
A sniper standing on Sydney's Centrepoint Tower using the .50 calibre rifle could take out the engine of a car near the Opera House or stop a bus on the Anzac Bridge, such was its potency, they said.
Police yesterday showed off the weapons stash, which also included a Russian-designed AK-47 assault rifle, a Colt AR-15 semi-automatic assault rifle, a WWII Austin Mark 1 machine gun and a number of submachine guns.
Superintendent Arthur Katsogiannis, from the Firearms and Organised Crime Squad, said police did not yet know where the weapons had come from or how they had been brought into country.
He agreed they were rare weapons but did not know whether there were other similar weapons on the streets.
The haul was part of a long-running sting in which undercover officers allegedly bought illegal firearms from a targeted supplier.
A Sydney University gun expert, Phillip Alpers, said the seizure of the sniper's rifle was the most worrying.
"The sniper's rifle is the one that the US Secret Service is really worried about knocking off a president one day," he told ABC Radio today.
"You can hit a person at anything up to two miles distance if you're trained. The bullet will go clean through a manhole cover, a light armoured personnel vehicle.
"It can disable a jet aircraft at one or two miles distance."
Brian Hartigan, editor of military magazine Contact, told the Australian Financial Review in December of the .50 calibre sniper rifle's devastating firepower and lethal range.
"Two thousand metres is a hell of a long way," he said.
"To put that in perspective, a sniper on the roof of Sydney Tower in the CBD could easily be expected (assuming there is actually a line of sight between these points) to take out the engine block of a bullet-proof car parked at the Opera House f orecourt (1500m), or a VIP limo visiting Garden Island docks (1650m), or stop a bus on Anzac Bridge," he said
"Imagine how difficult it would be to figure out where a shot like that came from, even if the shooter was standing in the open."
.50 calibre rifles can be legally purchased by civilians in most US states. One manufacturer sells a .50 calibre rifles for about $12,400.
Gun expert Ron Owens said any long-range rifle with a telescope could technically be described as a sniper rifle.
But many of the weapons listed in the haul of illegal weapons presented by police yesterday were typical of those owned by collectors or sporting shooters, and not necessarily only for criminal use.
"An illegal firearm is anything they deem illegal on the day ... [for example] they could suspend my licence and suddenly every weapon in my collection could become illegal,'' he said.
Local sporting gun clubs said it was not uncommon for shooters to hold licences for rifles capable of firing accurately distances of more than a kilometre.
"The distance that target shooters go up to in Australia is 1200 metres,'' said a spokesman for the Sporting Shooters Association of Australia.
"But generally speaking, for target shooting ranges are only approved [to use guns with calibres] up to 9 millimetres.''
He also stressed sporting shooters "don't have access to, or can go anywhere near anything that looks or smells like a military firearm''.
New South Wales Rifle Association chairman John Fitzgerald also said its members had guns that could fire over a kilometre, but did not believe anyone could legally - under NSW firearms laws - own a rifle as high as .50 calibre.
In the US, the Fifty Caliber Shooters Association is set up to "advance the sporting uses of the .50 [calibre]''.
Police also raided two Sydney properties this week, seizing 14 illegal firearms.
A 59-year-old Elanora Heights man was charged with 23 unregistered firearms offences and given bail to face Manly Local Court on Thursday.
A 62-year-old man was remanded in custody after a raid on a property in Noble Street, Concord, allegedly uncovered 3600 rounds of 7.62 calibre ammunition.