Alfa Carbine straw purchase program: Underworld arms supplier sees prison sentence reduced

A former drug dealer who supplied modified Alfa Carbine pistols to the underworld in the months before a surge in gun crime has had his prison sentence reduced.

Kishor Chandra Singh, 53, used genuine firearms license holders as “straw buyers” to obtain 21 rifles, a type easily convertible into revolver-style handguns.

Police believed the guns, obtained in Napier between March and May 2022, were destined for Auckland, where there was an increase in gang-related gun crime in the following months.

Singh was sentenced at Napier District Court in May last year after pleading guilty to nine charges, including unlawful possession of a firearm, possession of ammunition, possession of cannabis for the purpose of supply , cultivation of cannabis, possession of methamphetamine for the purpose of supplying, receiving and attempting to pervert the course of the drug. justice.

He was sentenced to six and a half years in prison, with a minimum period of one year and nine months without parole.

He appealed the sentence to the High Court, arguing that it was “manifestly excessive” and that the sentencing judge's decision was flawed.

High Court judge Helen Cull agreed, overturning the sentence and replacing it with a sentence of five years and 10 months, with no minimum period to serve without parole.

Singh is a former member of the Hells Angels, who was jailed for eight years and 11 months in 2012 for supplying methamphetamine.

The District Court heard last year that he managed to get straight to the start after being released in 2016, but was caught by an electronic surveillance operation called Operation Carbine in 2022.

Operation Carbine identified Singh as being responsible for obtaining the Alfa Carbine firearms, modifying them and reselling them.

Alfa rifles, available in 9mm, .357 and .22 calibers, are easily cut into handguns, making them easy to conceal and attractive to gangs and organized crime groups.

Although the length of a rifle in their unmodified state, they have a pistol-style grip and a chambered cylinder, like a revolver.

Alfa rifles are also popular in the gang world because they do not eject shell casings when fired, leaving behind less evidence to link the firearm to a gun crime.

Police say they have seized numerous downsized Alfa rifles in recent years.

Singh, who does not hold a firearms license, organized five associates, license holders, to purchase 21 rifles from Gun City in Napier over 10 dates from March to May 2022.

The total cost of the 21 weapons was $47,390. Singh paid his associates an additional $500 to provide each of them, according to a Crown summary of facts.

“Intercepted communications from an associate’s phone indicated the weapons and ammunition were destined for Auckland, where a surge in gang-related gun crime occurred in May and June 2022,” the summary said.

Police searched Singh's home, vehicle and workshop in Hastings, as well as a warehouse he had rented in Taupo, on August 10, 2022.

In Hastings, they found 7.3 grams of methamphetamine, 9 kilograms of packaged cannabis buds, 1.5 kg of cannabis remains, a cut-up Ruger .22 rifle and loaded magazines. They found and seized $6,000 from the house.

In the workshop, they found a Bobcat MT100 skid steer loader and tandem trailer, worth $67,000, that had been stolen a week earlier.

In the Taupō storage unit, they found two Alfa rifles with the stocks cut off and the barrels shortened, and the serial numbers scratched off.

In finding the initial prison term excessive, Mr Justice Cull said cumulative sentences had been imposed for two groups of offences, rather than concurrent sentences; categories of firearms and ammunition had been duplicated; the duration imposed for the drug offense was too long; and a prior offense enhancement was “punitive” and improperly included in the sentencing judge’s starting point.

She recalculated Singh's sentence, starting with a four-year prison term for possession of the 21 Alfa Carbine rifles, and adding four and a half years for drug possession, perverting and perverting the course of justice.

To those eight and a half years, she added six months for Singh's 2012 methamphetamine dealing before deducting two years and two months for his guilty pleas and an additional year for his personal history, rehabilitation prospects and time released on bail under electronic monitoring.

This resulted in the new final sentence of five years and 10 months.

Ric Stevens worked for many years for the former New Zealand Press Association news agency, including as a political reporter in Parliament, before holding senior positions at various daily newspapers. He joined NZME's Open Justice team in 2022 and is based in Hawke's Bay. His writing in the area of ​​crime and justice is based on four years of front-line experience as a probation officer.