4 August 2011

Guns looted in Fyshwick. 16 Rifles!

| johnboy
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ACT Policing is investigating a burglary in which a number of firearms were stolen from a business premises in Fyshwick.

The burglary is believed to have occurred between Friday, July 29 and Wednesday, August 3, when unknown offender(s) have entered the rear yard of a Lyell Street, Fyshwick business and cut the padlocks to a shipping container where the firearms had been stored.

The firearms stolen were older model rifles dating from the 1970s to 1990s and are valued in the tens of thousands of dollars. It is believed around 16 rifles were stolen during the burglary. A sum of cash was also stolen from the shipping container.

Anyone who may have seen or heard any suspicious activity between the above-mentioned dates in the Lyell Street area is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, or via the Crime Stoppers website on www.act.crimestoppers.com.au. Information can be provided anonymously.

[Courtesy ACT Policing]

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fgzk said :

Not yet. Ive always liked the story of the UK Government who spent million’s of pounds developing a secure shipping container. They handed it over to the SAS, who popped down to the hardware store and bought a drill, a gas bottle and some toilet paper. Drilled a hole, filled it with gas and lit the toilet paper wick. Container breached. Works with ATM’s too.

Works even better with Oxyacetylene. Much harder to get the fuel/air mix right with propane…

Angry, vindictive ex-wives don’t get access to your cash kept in your secret (well ex-secret in this case) gun stash. They do however get access to your bank records/accounts.

Any sensible person prepared for the zombie apocalypse would also have a handy supply of cash for the first few days/weeks when it would be worth something. The guns speak for themselves during the zombie apocalypse.

breda said :

Odd story. What was cash doing in the shipping container?

I was thinking the same thing. Sure its strange, but possibly understandable that a business might have some of their goods in a shipping container out the back. But, seriously how many businesses store their cash in a shipping container, rather than a safe, cash box or in the bank? Without wanting to cast any questions over the business, having firearms and cash being stolen while stored together, sounds a little suspicious.

p996911turbo said :

Interestingly enough, the walls of a shipping container are not 3mm thick. They’re 2mm thick towards the ends and only 1.6mm thick in the middle. Perhaps it doesn’t meet the requirements for firearms? That being said, the steel used in a shipping container is 350MPa Corten, so it’s a lot stronger than a generic ‘mild steel’.

Anyway, the weak point is always the padlock. You’d want a lot of time with an angle grinder to get in any other way.

Boring diversion over!

Not yet. Ive always liked the story of the UK Government who spent million’s of pounds developing a secure shipping container. They handed it over to the SAS, who popped down to the hardware store and bought a drill, a gas bottle and some toilet paper. Drilled a hole, filled it with gas and lit the toilet paper wick. Container breached. Works with ATM’s too.

Captain RAAF10:13 am 05 Aug 11

fgzk said :

CaptMS “I don’t think quality rifles are the crims weapon of choice either.”

The crims would be more interested in the semi/autos buried under your roses.

That was supposed to be our little secret fgzk, i’ll have to dig them up and put them somewhere else now!

p996911turbo10:09 am 05 Aug 11

Interestingly enough, the walls of a shipping container are not 3mm thick. They’re 2mm thick towards the ends and only 1.6mm thick in the middle. Perhaps it doesn’t meet the requirements for firearms? That being said, the steel used in a shipping container is 350MPa Corten, so it’s a lot stronger than a generic ‘mild steel’.

Anyway, the weak point is always the padlock. You’d want a lot of time with an angle grinder to get in any other way.

Boring diversion over!

CaptMS “I don’t think quality rifles are the crims weapon of choice either.”

The crims would be more interested in the semi/autos buried under your roses.

Captain RAAF8:19 am 05 Aug 11

Henry82 said :

Captain RAAF said :

What breach? A shipping container is a legal container for storage of Class A and B firearms in the ACT.

According to the act policing website.

>The container must be fitted with a five-lever key deadlock on the door or another locking mechanism providing equivalent security.

imo a lock that can be “cut” wouldnt be the equivalent of a five lever key

From the ACT Policing website:

Category A and B firearms (in excess of 10 firearms in total)

Firearms must be stored in a metal container constructed of at least 3mm thick mild steel or in a container constructed of reinforced concrete, double brick or reinforced besser blocks.
The container must be fitted with a steel door not less than 3mm thick and if hinged have a fixed locking bar or dogging bolts welded to the inside face of the door.
The container must be fitted with a five-lever key deadlock on the door or another locking mechanism providing equivalent security.
The container must be attached to the building (unless the mass of the container when empty is 150 kilograms or more).

A shipping container, with a suitable lock, would exceed a five lever key deadlock. The report doesn’t say how the ‘padlocks’ were cut nor does it mention what type they were or if they were shielded and the cut was made with a grinder or blowtorch! The only area where a shipping container falls down is that the dogging bolts are on the outside of the door but even this would deter all but the most hardcore thief.

As a licenced firearms owner, I can tell you that if someone wants your guns bad enough, no amount of five lever deadlocks will stop them. All you can do is to make the breaking in process as difficult, noisy and as long as possible.

My gun safe has no less than than 4 individual locking mechanisms as well as being bolted to the wall and the floor. If someone wants them bad enough they could be in there in a few minutes but they’d make a hell of a noise.

Sad thing is, they would be safer inside the house but as Mrs RAAF is anti-gun they have to be kept in the shed…..with all my grinders, drills and bolt cutters.

I don’t think quality rifles are the crims weapon of choice either.

Odd story. What was cash doing in the shipping container?

Captain RAAF said :

What breach? A shipping container is a legal container for storage of Class A and B firearms in the ACT.

According to the act policing website.

>The container must be fitted with a five-lever key deadlock on the door or another locking mechanism providing equivalent security.

imo a lock that can be “cut” wouldnt be the equivalent of a five lever key

A padlock on a shipping container, excellent storage of thousands of dollars worth of rifles. Genius.

farnarkler said :

Surely there couldn’t be too many people who knew the guns were in the container.

You’d be surprised. A friend mentions it in conversation to a group of people, who mention it on conversation to a group of people, and suddenly 50 or 60 people know of the existence of a large collection of firearms in Fyshwick. And not everybody treads the path of righteousness, as we know from events in Braddon today.

Surely there couldn’t be too many people who knew the guns were in the container.

This is pretty interesting. Firearms, like cars, generally depreciate with age. So a large number of old firearms, each worth a large amount of money (if the “tens of thousands of dollars” is to be believed) indicates a valuable collection.

The blaggers knew they were there. I wonder if they were stolen for their collectors value, or simply because they are shooters that can be sold illegally to the nearest crim for a large amount of money.

Captain RAAF8:33 pm 04 Aug 11

Henry82 said :

It’s quite concerning that we’ve had two (relatively easy) thefts of guns in the past month. I hope the police are taking breaches in not securely storing a weapon seriously.

What breach? A shipping container is a legal container for storage of Class A and B firearms in the ACT.

I won’t leave my tools in a shipping container at work because a monkey can brake into it. Why would you leave guns valued in the tens of thousands of dollars in one. what a retard .

It’s quite concerning that we’ve had two (relatively easy) thefts of guns in the past month. I hope the police are taking breaches in not securely storing a weapon seriously.

Captain RAAF6:45 pm 04 Aug 11

basketcase said :

And were the bolts were also stored with the rifles?

Probably, no requirement that they had to be.

Bolts are easy to obtain anyway.

And were the bolts were also stored with the rifles?

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