A 39-year-old man has been charged after a firearm was found in his luggage at Sydney Airport, according to the Australian Federal Police (AFP). On December 28, a security worker monitoring an X-ray machine noticed suspicious items in the man’s bag. AFP officers inspected the luggage and discovered parts of a disassembled shotgun and ammunition.
The man, who was about to board a flight to Lebanon, was stopped and questioned about the firearm, which was not registered to him. He faces a charge of trafficking prohibited firearms or firearm parts out of Australia, carrying a potential 20-year prison sentence.
Initially, the man claimed the weapon was a drenching gun used for treating livestock, but AFP officers determined it was a broken-down shotgun, a dangerous weapon. AFP Detective Acting Superintendent Dom Stephenson praised the swift actions of security and AFP officers for preventing potential harm.
In a separate incident in South Australia, a 40-year-old man died after being shot by police. Officers were called to a home in Adelaide’s southern suburbs early Tuesday in response to reports of a man harming himself with a knife. The man allegedly threatened officers with the knife after they entered the home, leading to police firing their weapons. No officers were injured, and an investigation into the incident is underway.
