Aleziah Spiers busted with illegal firearms at Clarkfield property
A former Australian Army soldier and wannabe commando hid a large cache of illegal weapons in a secret lair on the edge of Melbourne to prepare for the “apocalypse”.
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A former Australian Army soldier and a wannabe commando hid an arsenal of illegal weapons including machine guns on a farm on the northern fringes of Melbourne in case he needed to survive in the event of an “apocalypse”.
Aleziah Spiers, 30, pleaded guilty in the County Court on Wednesday to charges of possessing a traffickable quantity of firearms, possession of an imitation firearm, possession of a prohibited weapon without an exemption/approval, possess body armour without an exemption/approval, possession of multiple cartridges of ammunition.
A summary of facts stated Spiers, who chose a ‘survivalist’ lifestyle that actively involved
acquiring resources and/or skills in preparation of an “apocalyptic or world-wide catastrophic events”.
His former partner and the man she formed a relationship with blew Spiers’ cover, telling Kyneton police they believed Spiers had stored a significant volume of firearms at the Clarkfield property.
Spiers illegally stockpiled 16 firearms and the haul included a selection of machine guns, rifles, semi-automatic handguns and firearms parts. They were discovered under floorboards and in an old shearing shed on the farm in Clarkfield.
The farm was owned by his then partner’s father Robert Scott.
Police located a gun safe and about 4kg of potassium nitrate and sulphur powder,
and a smokeless black powder being chemicals combined to manufacture explosives, in a shipping container on July 2, 2022.
Spiers was arrested at a laundromat that day and a search of his property located a military helmet, a ballistic panel for a ballistic vest and a belt with a gun holster.
During his ‘survivalists’ network and Sunday classes, the Spiers formed a friendship with a man, who, in 2020, brought large amounts of firearms and firearm-related items to the Clarkefield property and gave them to Spiers.
During an interview at the Melbourne West police complex, Spiers — who has never held a firearms licence — denied firing any of the firearms but said he would know how to if he sat down with one and looked at it.
Spiers’ lawyer Timothy Fitzpatrick said his client has no criminal history and that none of firearms came through criminal activity.
He referred the court to a bravery award Spiers received from Sir Peter Cosgrove on August 19, 2015 for helping rescue a woman off Frankston Beach.
Spiers has always had an interest in serving his country and joining special forces and not an interest in guns, Mr Fitzpatrick submitted in his plea submission.
Prosecutor Zoran Petric said protection of the community must be the court’s primary consideration and that the firearms were difficult to detect with the way Spiers concealed them.
Spiers has been remanded in custody and will be sentenced on November 20.
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