Kash Patel Brought Illegal 3D-Printed Guns Into New Zealand

FBI Director Kash Patel traveled to New Zealand in late July to open a new FBI office in the capital city of Wellington. But a report from the Associated Press explains how Patel broke the law in that country during his visit.

Patel reportedly gave 3D-printed pistols to at least three senior security officials in New Zealand. The guns were “inoperable” according to the AP, though it’s not entirely clear what that means. Rendering a gun “inoperable” often means temporarily removing a firing mechanism, but those guns are still tightly controlled in New Zealand ever since the country enacted stricter gun control laws in the wake of the Christchurch massacre of 2019.

Inoperable pistols that can be made operable through modifications are treated like operable guns in New Zealand and face the same laws. And while it’s not altogether surprising that an American would be ignorant of the law in a foreign country, it’s particularly shocking for the head of the FBI not to have a team that would be able to know if he was smuggling illegal firearms into New Zealand. Patel was there to open an office that’s all about upholding the law, after all.

New Zealand was shocked by two mass shootings committed by a white supremacist terrorist in Christchurch on March 15, 2019, that killed 51 people and wounded 89. The 28-year-old shooter targeted two mosques, livestreaming his attack on Facebook, and writing hateful messages all over his guns. Brenton Tarrant, an Australian national, was convicted of the murders and New Zealand passed a number of strict laws against firearms in the immediate aftermath.

The three officials who confirmed that they received guns from Patel on July 31 handed them to police the following day and had them destroyed, according to New Zealand news outlet RNZ. The three people who were confirmed to have received the guns included Richard Chambers, New Zealand’s Police Commissioner, Andrew Hampton, Director-General of New Zealand’s intel agency NZSIS, and Andrew Clark, Director-General of the intel agency GCSB.

The U.S. has law enforcement offices around the globe, and the FBI’s office in Wellington was first opened in 2017 as a sub-office of the FBI office in Canberra, Australia. The newly expanded offices in Wellington will help monitor islands of the South Pacific, along with activity in Antarctica. New Zealand is considered one of America’s closest allies as one of the countries in the Five Eyes spying alliance, which also includes the UK, Australia, and Canada.

“The FBI has had a strong relationship and collaborated closely with our counterparts in New Zealand for years,” Patel said during his visit to New Zealand. “Expanding the Wellington office demonstrates the strength and evolution of our partnership as we continue to work together to address our shared security objectives in the region.”

President Trump didn’t sit down to properly meet with the prime ministers of Australia and New Zealand during last week’s United Nations meeting, something that was remarked upon in that region of the world, given the supposedly close ties. But Trump has been extremely hostile to America’s traditional allies ever since he was inaugurated for a second time in January, even threatening to invade countries like Canada and Greenland.

The FBI didn’t respond to questions emailed on Tuesday. Gizmodo will update this article when we hear back.