Fears Melbourne’s underworld behind gun theft
Police fear shady figures in Melbourne’s underworld used an insider to execute a sinister plot that saw a massive stash of guns vanish.
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A massive stash of powerful guns are feared to have landed in Melbourne’s underworld after disappearing in transit over a month ago.
A pallet loaded with the firearms vanished while being held by Morrows Logistics in Melbourne’s south east in February.
Specialist officers from Victoria Police’s illicit firearms unit have interviewed employees of the transport firm and raided numerous properties, but not found the guns.
The theft is believed to be Melbourne’s biggest gun raid since O’Reilly’s Firearms in Thornbury was targeted by organised criminals in 2018 and almost 40 handguns worth $40,000 were later found in a Docklands apartment.
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Morrows Logistics, based in Keysborough, specialises in the transport of dangerous goods and uses “dedicated segregation bunkers” for high-risk transfers.
The Herald Sun has been told the pallet containing the firearms originated in Sunshine West.
One firearms industry source said such a theft would involve a high level of planning and, most likely, inside information. There was “no way” thieves had just stumbled across the pallet load of guns and had been in a position to spontaneously take them.
“It’d be fair to say there’s been a lot of planning,” he said.
The source said whoever had the guns would already have had ways to sell them.
He added it was hard to know the exact value of the weapons without knowing the makes and specifications, but that each would attract a minimum price of thousands of dollars on the black market.
There has been ongoing concern about large-scale firearm thefts across Australia.
About 100 rifles and handguns were stolen during a high-profile heist at one of Western Australia’s biggest gun stores in late 2019.
The crooks cut through thick concrete walls to gain access to the weapons at Claremont Firearms at Yangebup in Perth’s south.
Over the past five years police have recorded 179 firearms theft offences in Victoria.
The latest Crime Statistics Agency data shows 32 firearms thefts occurred in the year to December 2020 — 68 per cent more than in 2016.
Police have urged anyone with information about the latest missing guns to come forward.
“Detectives from the illicit firearms unit are investigating,” a spokeswoman said.
“A number of search warrants have been executed as part of the investigation, however, the firearms are yet to be located.”
Morrow Logistics was contacted for comment.
The investigation is ongoing and anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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