Rupinder Gill: Deer Park ex-soldier caught with guns, 20kg of drugs

A Deer Park man booted from the army has been found with an arsenal of weapons and more than 20kg of drugs.

Police raided Gill’s family home in Deer Park.

An ex-soldier, who was discharged from the army for misconduct, has been caught hoarding an arsenal of weapons and more than 20kg of drugs at his family’s Deer Park home.

Rupinder Gill, 35, was sentenced to three years and six months’ jail before the County Court on Thursday, having pleaded guilty to charges including possessing a trafficable quantity of firearms, trafficking a commercial quantity of GHB and trafficking meth.

Police uncovered three guns, boxes of ammunition, 21.4kg of GHB, 56.3g of meth and $4495 cash when they raided Gill’s Deer Park home on September 30, 2019.

They also found Gill had two swords, two knuckle dusters, two throwing stars, a flick knife, extendible baton, a stolen BMW motorcycle and other stolen goods.

The three guns — a stolen BL22 rim-fire rifle, an air rifle and a semi automatic 12 gauge shotgun — were found in the boot of the car along with five boxes of ammunition.

Police then found messages about drug dealing on Gill’s phone and discovered he had storage units in Maribyrnong and Braybrook.

Raids of the storage units uncovered five stolen motorcycles and about $80,000 worth of power tools.

Gill also had personal documents belonging to the victims of a burglary he carried out at a Deer Park home with two other men on September 16, 2019.

The court heard the three thieves spent hours clearing out the house, aware that the resident of the house had just died while he was on an overseas trip.

The men plundered a long list of items including bikes, power tools, Motorbike gear, a Dyson vacuum and a spray tan machine.

Police were investigating Gill for this burglary when they discovered the other illicit items at his home.

Gill had an extensive criminal history, including convictions for previously trafficking meth and possessing firearms.

The court heard Gill had grown up in Sunshine and had been expelled from two secondary schools before he worked at Toyota and Mrs Crocket Kitchens.

His lawyer told the court Gill joined the Australian Army in 2007 to try to abstain from his already problematic drug use, and served for three years before he was discharged in 2010 for misconduct and alcohol use.

The court heard he had his last job for less than a year in 2012, which he stopped due to his drug addiction.

It was submitted that when he was arrested he was dealing drugs to support his own drug addiction, but had managed to abstain from using drugs while in jail.

References from his family members revealed he was remorseful for his actions.

Judge Stuart said Gill’s moral culpability was to be considered as “complete” for the crimes.

The Judge noted Gill’s offending had significantly escalated, and that his prospects of rehabilitation were guarded.

“You have potential. The choice is of course yours,” Judge Stuart told Gill.

Judge Stuart said he was taking into account the benefit of Gill’s plea, and that jail had been more onerous due to restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gill was sentenced to a maximum of five years and six months’ jail, having already served 596 days.