Western Sydney a handgun hotspot

With illegal handguns costing $15,000 and more on the black market, desperate criminals have even resorted to converting ear-piercing instruments and spear guns into makeshift pistols.

“About 10 per cent of the weapons we are seizing are homemade,’’ said Detective Superintendent Mick Plotecki, newly appointed boss of the Firearms and Organised Crime Squad.

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Once the demand has been established there is no going back.

Blame the rap music!

“Most of the crooks, especially young guys, think of themselves as gangsters and want handguns and are willing to pay big money,” he said.

“They want to be seen with these pistols like in rap songs and movies. They will pay $10,000 to $15,000 for a pistol.’’

The article and the police spin it as positively as they can saying that increasing homemade weapons is a sign that it's more difficult to get factory made weapons. They also cite the high price of factory made weapons but apparently people are willing to pay the price.

The bit they seem to gloss over, that is important for their future is:

Supt Plotecki said there was anecdotal evidence the outlaw motorcycle gangs were targeting people who have the skills to make weapons.

He said criminals will use anything to make a weapon, often using parts of old guns with pieces of wood as well as bits of tubing to make rudimentary silencers.

Practice makes perfect and if there is enough demand to justify dropping $15,000 on a handgun there is certainly enough demand to encourage the growth of the homemade gun market.

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The homemade machineguns and silencers are things even in the gun-saturated US we cannot get our hands on very easily if at all but garages and basements in Aus are pumping them out at an increasing rate.

The article likes to show crappy little zip guns but neglects to highlight these:

[url=http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2013/11/19/home-built-m11-submachine-guns-seized-australia/]Home built M11 Subguns siezed
Silenced machineguns

And of course:

WESTERN Sydney is taking up arms, with licensed handgun owners occupying five of the top 10 postcodes.

Gun control lobbyists say the relatively high number of firearm owners in places like Mt Druitt, Campbelltown and Westmead is likely the result of residents arming themselves against drive-by shootings and violent crime.

There's no going back. The "bikies" as they are called and other criminals will keep demanding guns, the quality of homemade guns will continue to improve and the residents will continue to clamor for protection for their own.

Western Sydney is the worst place in Australia in my opinion.. When shtf there you would want to get out of the joint.

Really?!?! $10,000 - $15,000 for a handgun on the black market?!!

I see a business opportunity. I can buy a nice 1911 .45ACP here new for $500....sell it there for $10,000

I have a 12' aluminum rowboat for fishing, Anyone know long would it take to row from the US to Australia?

The point is that even in a land with some of the most stringent gun laws in the world, criminals still manage to get guns, even if they have to make them.

I'm hardly surprised by it. I mean, I've heard of prisoners making shivs out of toilet paper before. Where there's a will, there's a way.

All gun control does is disarm law abiding citizens.

To all you Aussies out there looking for freedom and guns, come to America! (legally of course)

I lived in Melbourne for a little while, nice people. Can't say the same for the Eastern Greys.

a reply to: mwood

they're pretty tough on "immigration" out here these days..

i woke to hear the news today
last night a 19 y.o guy was shot in colyton (st. marys/mt. druitt area)
he later died in westmead hospital..

...what a waste

As someone that lives in Western Sydney it's not entirely a suprise. A large proportion of Sydneys gangs and criminals either live or are based out here. Alot of the lower-income suburbs are out this way as well so alot of scum tends to naturally migrate this way.

It's generally not an issue to the average person. If you're female avoid walking home from train stations by yourself late at night (pretty much the same as any other major city), don't goto cafes, parks etc that seem to always have suspect looking characters near them, don't be a jerk to other people and you'll be fine. The only time we have issues is the 1-2 times a year where there's a lovers tiff between the bike gangs and they start doing drive-bys on the wrong houses.