Australian Customs and Guns - it's a NO NO!

by Sail-World Cruising on 23 May 2008 Customs investigators in Brisbane have arrested and charged an Australian man after seizing a handgun and ammunition from onboard his vessel over the weekend.

The carrying of guns aboard long range cruising boats is a long discussed question among cruising sailors, made relevant by the fear of pirates in remote areas. The issue is many sided and most sailors of most nationalities opt not to carry weapons. Those that do are in a vexed situation - if you declare a weapon on arriving in most countries it will be bonded until your departure. This is unsatisfactory for two reasons - first it means that the weapon is unavailable if you need it, and, second, you then must return to the SAME port when departing the country to retrieve it, and this is usually very inconvenient.

The result is that most cruisers who decide to carry guns do NOT declare them. Of course there are many more issues that confront a sailor who considers carrying a weapon. Top among them is whether one has the necessary skills, and secondly the decision as to what kind of weapon would be effective against the AK47's that today's pirates typically carry.....

On Saturday 17 May, Customs officers boarded a cruiser at the Rivergate Marina in Brisbane to formally clear the vessel and its passengers before they departed overseas.

During a search of the cruiser, Customs officers, accompanied by a detector dog team, allegedly found a .38 calibre revolver and more than 200 rounds of .38 calibre and .22 calibre ammunition hidden underneath a drawer in one of the beds.

A 53-year-old man from Kangaroo Point was interviewed by Customs investigators and then arrested and charged with attempting to export prohibited goods under Section S233BAB (6) of the Customs Act 1901.

He was bailed to appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Wednesday, 21 May.

Customs National Manager Investigations, Richard Janeczko said today that the incident , the third around Australia this month , was a reminder to any travellers arriving in Australia or heading overseas that Customs treated weapons smuggling or the failure to declare weapons and other restricted items to Customs as a serious matter which could result in prosecution.