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Elon Musk Boring Company flame thrower found at drug bust

Police executing search warrants last week found the drugs they were looking for and a few other things too, including a flamethrower-like device.

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Police in Canada seized a flamethrower-like device from an Elon Musk-led company while conducting a drug bust last week.

The London, Ontario Police Service announced on social media on Tuesday that members of its “street gang unit” searched a number of addresses, seizing drugs, guns, cash and the flamethrower.

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Police seized the "flamethrower" and a .22 calibre rifle.
Police seized the "flamethrower" and a .22 calibre rifle.

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A 31-year-old man and a 32-year-old woman were charged with drug and weapons offences.

The flamethrower was sold as a promotional item, cheekily called “not-a-flamethrower” by Elon Musk’s Boring Company, which builds tunnels.

The company claims to have sold 20,000 of the devices at $US500 ($A646) a pop.

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The limited edition flamethrowers quickly sold out and began commanding huge mark-ups on eBay, but a number of them have, through one or another, ended up in police evidence lockers.

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The ‘flamethrowers’ don’t shoot flames beyond around three metres. Picture: Dania Maxwell/Bloomberg/Getty Images
The ‘flamethrowers’ don’t shoot flames beyond around three metres. Picture: Dania Maxwell/Bloomberg/Getty Images

In addition to the find in Ontario last week, an American man was arrested in Italy in 2018 after a bus driver called police when they mistook the “flamethrower” for a gun.

A YouTuber from Manchester, England had their house searched after posting about the gadget.

They’ve also shown up in other drug busts and traffic stops.

But it’s not clear yet whether the pair charged in Onario last week will face any legal repercussions for their flamethrower.

There has been debate on the legality of the device in Canada since the Boring Company first began selling them.

One Canadian lawyer told Global News Canada that the country’s laws defined a firearm as something that has a barrel and shoots a projectile.

The not-a-flamethrower has a barrel but doesn’t shoot a projectile, it’s more of a glorified blowtorch like the kind you can buy for less than $50 at your local Bunnings.

Police also seized cocaine and cash.
Police also seized cocaine and cash.

However, a rifle and knife were also allegedly found during the searches, as well as almost a kilogram of cocaine and a further seven kilograms of banned painkiller Phenacetin, sometimes used to “cut” cocaine for distribution.

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/inventions/elon-musk-boring-company-flame-thrower-found-at-drug-bust/news-story/4e4ac034a45b945b5ed2fb597c5cd21e