Guildford teen Haowei Ma pleads guilty to having unregistered firearms

Cops found a student handcuffed on his bed with a pistol nearby before they busted him with more than 50 weapons including gel blasters in his western Sydney unit.

Haowei Ma (back) leaves Parramatta Local Court on January 20, 2022 after police seized illegal firearms including 50 gel blasters from a Guildford unit in November 2021.

A teenager charged with possessing multiple firearms including gel gun pistols told cops he ordered them online and liked to play with them or use them for his YouTube Channel.

Haowei Ma, 19, was busted on his bed while handcuffed in the Guildford apartment he shared with his dad on November 17 last year before police uncovered 53 weapons including gel blasters and replica firearm parts.

Agreed facts tendered to court reveal police forced entry into the Station St home where they discovered the teen with a pistol beside him on the bed before finding a haul of firearms scattered around the two-bedroom unit that was in “disarray” and “cluttered”.

Several military-style firearms were leaning against Ma’s closet and bedroom wall and a pistol sat on his desk next to a computer.

The cache included 34 gelball airguns, defined as prohibited firearms, and an imitation revolve, all unregistered. Sixteen were pistols that Ma was not licensed to possess.

Haowei Ma has pleaded guilty to having a haul of unregistered firearms.

Police with one of the weapons seized in the bust. Picture: NSW Police

When a policeman quizzed him about the weapons, he said: “I did not know they were illegal. My Queensland friends, they told me it was a hobby.’’

Ma, who was home alone during the arrest, told investigators he had lived in NSW since 2017.

He told police he ordered the guns from a Queensland shop and he owned “about 30 to 40’’.

“Mr Ma went on to say that some of the firearms he no longer liked, therefore he would sell them to cover his tutoring fee,’’ the facts state.

Haowei Ma used some weapons to ‘play’ with, for his YouTube channel and to fund his tutorial fees. Picture: NSW Police

But the remaining firearms would be for him to play with and “sometimes make a video and put it up on his YouTube channel”.

The raid came as Cumberland detectives started an investigation into the supply of replica firearms, parts and gel-blasters in the Cumberland area.

He was granted bail last year on the conditions including that he surrender his Chinese passport, only leave home to study and not use YouTube.

Last month, Ma pleaded guilty to possessing more than three unregistered firearms including pistol or prohibited firearm. Two counts of possessing an unauthorised prohibited firearm were withdrawn.

He will be sentenced at Parramatta District Court on February 14, and a Chinese-Mandarin interpreter was requested.