Sunshine Coast gun crime: Drug crime leading to rise in firearm violence
The rise of a booming black market gun trade and its involvement with drugs are some of the reasons illegal firearms are spilling out onto Sunshine Coast streets.
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A rise in the drug trade and a booming black market for firearms are believed to be at the centre of escalating gun crime on the Sunshine Coast.
Queensland Police data revealed there had been more than 3000 weapons act offences on the Sunshine Coast since January 2020, with 319 charges specifically being the possession of firearms.
The Sunshine Coast has been no stranger to gun violence this year which included murder-suicide of Sunshine Coast woman Sonja Kovacevic, 48, and Browns Plains man Barry Houston, 52, who were killed gunshot wounds from a high powered rifle on March 21, 2022.
Acting Detective Inspector Phil Hurst said there was an increase in gun crime, and noted how offenders were also using replica guns such as gel blasters to facilitate crimes.
“There’s a black market in trafficking firearms, as well as break and enters where legal firearms are being stolen and pushed out to criminal networks,” he said.
Inspector Hurst said their investigations had revealed those who work in alleged drug trafficking circles were known to deal with firearms.
“We’ve seen this trend as we’re doing these drug investigations, with people using weapons as a part of their business,” Inspector Hurst said.
“These firearms are going hand-in-hand with their drug trade.”
Police action in recent months had culminated in numerous arrests for firearms through multiple raids across the Sunshine Coast, netting weapons such as rifles, handguns and ammunition.
Sunshine Coast Gun Shop owner David Longrigg said a total prohibition on guns to kerb this rise would not be fair on those responsible gun owners who needed firearms for essential needs.
The Maroochydore business owner said gun owners and the Australian government had done a “comprehensive job” of keeping guns out of the hands of criminals.
“It’s an essential part of the community, particularly for farmers and those hunting pests in regional areas,” he said.
In figures published by the University of Sydney’s hosted GunPolicy.org, there were a total of 913,000 private owned firearms as of 2020 in Queensland, steadily rising from 831,485 in 2015.
More data showed there were an estimated 83,000 unregistered and illicit guns circulating in Queensland.
The business owner said the path to acquire a gun legally was a two-step process involving a safety course, police checks, and reasonings for why a person needs a rifle.
“Australia even has an ongoing gun amnesty in Queensland so if you come across grandad’s gun … you can bring it into any shop and surrender it without fear of prosecution,” Mr Longrigg said.
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Originally published as Sunshine Coast gun crime: Drug crime leading to rise in firearm violence
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