Three men charged over ‘high value’ museum gun heist

[Pelican Press 0]

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Three men charged over ‘high value’ museum **** heist

Three men have been charged over the theft of more than two dozen antique handguns from a regional museum.

The commemorative handguns were stolen from the Lithgow Small Arms Factory Museum, in the NSW Blue Mountains region, early on August 25 by a group of men who had their faces covered.

The weapons included one from the 1700s and a ******* gifted by the Sultan of Oman.

Detectives were told the handguns, worth more than $200,000, could be made operational with modifications.

Police on Friday said three suspected thieves, aged 46, 41 and 27, were arrested a day earlier following raids in the towns of Vincentia, Nowra, Darbys Falls and Sanctuary Point.

Officers seized 13 of the 27 stolen firearms, as well as a shotgun and ammunition, a luxury car, seven NSW vehicle registration plates, $3500 in cash, electronic devices, methamphetamine and cannabis.

The 41-year-old man was charged with aggravated breaking and entering, participating in a ********* group and stealing a motor vehicle.

The other men were both charged with two counts of aggravated breaking and entering.

The trio is expected to appear at Nowra Local Court on Friday.

***** and Firearms Squad commander John Watson said 14 guns stolen from the museum remained missing.

“We believe these firearms may have been sold to members of the public who aren’t aware they are stolen,” he said.

“Due to this, we are asking those members of the public to return these firearms as quickly as they can.”

People would not face prosecution if they turned in the weapons to a registered firearms dealer or police station, Detective Superintendent Watson said.

Volunteers from the community-run museum were left devastated by the loss of the handguns.

“It’s more than just a firearms museum … it’s part of Australia’s history,” museum secretary Kerry Guerin said on Tuesday.

The museum opened in 1998 on the site of a former small-arms factory, which was established in 1912.

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