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Australian Customs have netted a massive illegal weapons haul, arresting a Victorian man for importing 6,000 weapons including hundreds of iPhone-shaped Tasers.
(Credit: Australian Customs and Border Protection Service)
The Australian Customs and Border Protection Service, in association with Victoria Police, intercepted a shipment of weapons from China, which included 5400 knuckle dusters and 790 Tasers, hidden amongst other goods.
The Tasers themselves were built to resemble torches and iPhones, making them of particular interest to Customs officials and Victoria Police. According to Inspector Darren Franks of Victoria Police, there has been an increase in the number of these disguised electric shock devices found on Australian streets.
“Recently, Victoria police have started to pick up on the smartphones and the torches appearing during traffic stops,” Inspector Franks told ABC News.
“Police members are paying particular attention to the torches and some smartphones because they realise that they are actually hiding a Taser, and we are unfortunately seeing a recurrence of those type of weapons on the street most recently.
“[From] a Victoria Police perspective, it’s outstanding that we got this amount of weaponry off the street.”
According to Victoria Police, the maximum penalty for this offence is a fine of up to $425,000 and/or up to 10 years jail time.
