WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — On a visit to New Zealand, FBI Director Kash Patel gave the country’s police and spy bosses gifts of inoperable pistols that were illegal to possess under local gun laws and had to be destroyed, New Zealand law enforcement agencies told The Associated Press.
The plastic 3D-printed replica pistols formed part of display stands Patel presented to at least four senior New Zealand security officials in July. Patel, the most senior Trump administration official to visit the country so far, was in Wellington to open the FBI’s first standalone office in New Zealand.
Pistols are tightly restricted weapons under New Zealand law and possessing one requires an additional permit beyond a regular gun license. Law enforcement agencies didn’t specify whether the officials who met with Patel held such permits, but they couldn’t have legally kept the gifts if they didn’t.
It wasn’t clear what permissions Patel had sought to bring the weapons into the country. A spokesperson for Patel told the AP Tuesday that the FBI would not comment.
US FBI Director Kash Patel visits New Zealand, immediately provides local officials with 3d printed, potentially operable firearms…
… which is a crime, that could carry up to a 3 year prison/jail sentence in NZ…
… and would also potentially be somewhere between a misdemeanor and a felony depending on where you are in the US, as 3d printed firearms are generally without serial numbers and are thus ‘ghost guns’, which are often illegal if unregistered, if not outright banned, though this differs from state to state and city to city.
(Oh also, I guess he is so concerned about properly investigating the death of Charlie Kirk that he is uh, personally looking for leads in New Zealand, or something.)
Doesn’t the FBI look into issues within USA borders? And doesn’t the CIA look into issues outside these borders? I’m confused as to why an FBI office needs to be in Wellington, especially since NZ is a sovereign country. Unless somehow the NZ government is somehow now a state of the US.
Unless somehow the NZ government is somehow now a state of the US
As a new zealander it sure fuckin feels like that sometimes
Why give up the opportunity to have a fully paid vacation in 5 stars hotels in another continent during a government shutdown?
The fbi does help other countries with investigations by request.
Uhm… yes. Yeah.
I am also kind of confused by this.
The FBI has like… sub offices, attachés to consulates/embassies… but uh… thats for coordinating with local law enforcement and I guess handling US expats.
Yeah I don’t know what the fuck Patel is doing here, unless he is kind of just publically admitting that all those other FBI sub offices and attachés just routinely handle Five Eyes / Nine Eyes / However many fucking Eyes type shit.
Which is, I mean, yeah, duh, but also, you’re not supposed to just say that outloud, Patel.
You’re supposed to be investigating the globalist deep state panopticon world controllers, not fucking building a new branch office for them…
Oh my god his brain must be the size of a walnut, he isn’t even good at what he is trying to be good at, holy shit.
Part of the reason for being of the five eyes countries is getting around our laws forbidding intelligence agencies from Spying on their own citizens. They have their ally do it and then share it with them.
The FBI is who you call when you want to investigate (and prosecute) international gangs/drug cartels (which is why he was there in the first place)
The CIA is who you call when you want a country’s leader shot with a shard of frozen pufferfish poison.
I mean, the CIA has frequently, with documentation, illegally operated on US soil… often by facilitating international gangs and drug cartels…
But yes, the ice gun with puffer fish poison is also a thing too lol.
Anyway uh, the article says:
News of Patel’s visit caused ripples in New Zealand at the time because the opening of the new FBI office in Wellington wasn’t divulged to news outlets or the public until it had already happened. An FBI statement in July said the move aligned New Zealand with FBI missions in other Five Eyes intelligence-sharing nations, which also include the United States, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom.
The office would provide a local mission for FBI staff who have operated with oversight from Canberra, Australia, since 2017, the statement said.
Where are you getting that Patel was there for intl. drug gang investigation?
Where are you getting that Patel was there for intl. drug gang investigation
https://www.euronews.com/2025/08/01/fbi-opens-first-office-in-new-zealand-sparking-backlash-in-china
New Zealand ministers who met Patel, the highest-ranking Trump administration official to visit New Zealand, quietly dismissed his claims.
A government statement on Thursday emphasised joint efforts against crimes such as online child exploitation and drug smuggling, with no mention of China.
“When we were talking, we never raised that issue,” Foreign Minister Winston said Thursday.
Patel said what he said because he is a fucking moron. If Patel lied, he is a moron for creating diplomatic problems for an ally. if Patel didn’t lie, he just brought a whole lot of unnecessary attention to a spy base in NZ.
Ah, ok, I’d only seen the AP article.
Welp.
Yeah, yep, Patel is indeed a gigantic fucking bug eyed idiot, that tracks.
I’m almost inclined to believe that he just wants an excuse to holiday in NZ. Because if it’s for spying… Good grief. Have they bungled it up badly.
…I mean, OPSEC IS CLEAN!
… in Wellington to open the FBI’s first standalone office in New Zealand.
A what now? Five Eyes not enough? Confused. Recalling rumours of CCP allegedly installing their own law enforcement agents locally.
It’s the four eyes now, we kicked the United States out unofficially. Seriously, we haven’t been sharing information with the United States since before Ukraine did that big drone attack.
Yeah… uh… good luck, I guess?
Hopefully NZ does not become something like the Berlin of the new Cold War.
3d printed firearms are generally without serial numbers and are thus ‘ghost guns’, which are illegal
This is not correct. Under federal law, building them for yourself is legal. However, selling them without a serial number is illegal. Manufacturing them without having a license is even more illegal.
The law in the various states may be more restrictive.
However, selling them without a serial number is illegal.
That’s not correct either . Federally it is legal to sell a self built firearm with no serial number as long as you did not originally build it with the intention of selling.
Intention
So if I make 100 of them and then lick each one of them, and then decide they don’t taste good… Selling them is OK right?
They’re gonna pull our licker license
Bravo
As stupid as that sounds, something a little less stupid may, may hold up as a defense in court, depending on where you are, and if you have a couple million dollars to blow on legal fees and/or can get some kind of gun rights advocacy oriented legal firm type thing to work for you.
So, giving them away is cool then right?
I have to say it though; there are many easier ways of making money.
Yeah, just 3d print ATM skimmers!
for legal reasons this a joke
I’m in the clear because at no point in time did I intend to illegally make money with whatever it is you’re talking about
I would ask your lawyer before investing in the infrastructure.
Many of the US’ gun laws come down to “intent”. Almost like they were written from the start to be selectively enforced.
What’s the difference between “building” and “manufacturing?”
Intent to sell
I am also unlearned in these ways. I wonder if the difference is the scale of the operation as far as the law is concerned?
From the country that brought you ‘dumb and dumber’, what did we expect.
US gun laws are incredible. Short Barreled Rifles are illegal. So they just make them with “pistol braces” instead, and sell them as “pistols.” AR-15 with a 10.5" barrel? Pistol.
Yep, and then if you put a ‘not a pistol brace but an actual buttstock’ on one of those things without registering it as an SBR… probably you are now a felon, maybe?
???
What is it for a rifle, 16 inch min barrel, 26 inch from toe to tip min length?
You would think this would spur bullpup adoption / creation around those exact specs… and I guess the PSA Wolverine, Kel Tech RDB and Springfield Hellion are that, though … the general gun community seems quite hesitant toward and skeptical of anything that doesn’t match their already learned standard AR 15 muscle memory.
Also that. Put a rifle stock on that gun for an instant felony.
Sorry I edited more into my comment as you made yours, but yeah, US gun law is uh… something.
Don’t bullpups have softer recoil?
That… depends.
Generally, puppies have less recoil simply as function of being a bit heavier, literally having more mass, but this can vary a lot depending on what you are comparing to, and the exact bullpup’s internal mechanics.
This is assuming we are comparing a bullpuppy and standard layout weapon shooting the same caliber, of course, from similar barrel lengths.
However, another large factor maybe isn’t quite recoil per se, but the overall balance point, center of mass of the weapon.
A lot of guntubers I have seen give bullpups a decent chance say that they are so well balanced, that you can reasonably accurately operate them single handedly, which is fairly important in a combat scenario where maybe you get shot in an arm or shoulder.
They also say that it is easier to get the weapon aimed at a target, and that follow up shots are also easier to aim precisely and get off more rapidly, because of the balance of the weapon, and that it is less fatiguing to hold a bullpuppy in a shouldered, ready to aim and fire position, and you can do this longer without your arms tiring.
As a video game modifier and fps enjoyer, I find it funny that that last part is almost never modelled or simulated by games. Sure, sniper oriented games will have a hold breath mechanic, but almost no games simulate that… just holding a weapon upright, shouldered, sighted in… this is tiring.
Like, grab a 7 pound semi gun shaped object and hold it as if you are just ‘iron sighted in’, in a game… I’ll bet your arms start getting weak and wobbly in a number of minutes, now try that with double or triple the weight to approimate an older /heavier rifle or MG of some kind, and you’ll see how silly the notion of just running around with like an M60, and using it as an assault rifle is, unless you are a fucking beefcake.
There are also studies that show that is is significantly easier to train an untrained shooter to be a decently accurate marksman with a bullpup than it is to do the same with a standard layout weapon.
But flip side of that are things like uh, field repairs can be more difficult and time consuming to repair, and widely reported heavier and/or chunkier, less smooth trigger pulls.
==For the record, I’ve shot a number of different weapons and calibers irl, but never an actual bullpup, so my ‘bullpup knowledge’ is second hand or theoretical==
Personally I’ve only handled a bullpup. It was created as a replacement for the old M16 the army used to use. Didn’t have much training with it, after a session of virtual training, we were sent to the live firing range to shoot. Managed to get a couple of shots under marksmen. As a video game enjoyer getting to shoot, and throwing live nades, was probably the only fun part about basic training.
So yes I think it’s a pretty good weapon for even novices to shoot accurately. Idk about fatigue tho since we were made to carry that thing around all the time and just got used to the weight as my own.
I more mean fatigue specifically in your arms, that makes it more difficult to aim accurately the longer you have the weapon shouldered, different from the kind of general fatigue based basically on the weight of your overall kit / loadout.
But either way, thank you for the first hand account!
I’ve definitely played games where using your sights gets wobbly after a few seconds.
Such as?
Genuienly, maybe I’ve missed a tac shooter or milsim and could get a new recommendation to check out, but I am mostly dogging on … the kinds of shooter games that have very realistic graphics stylings, but have rather arcady, unrealistic actual game mechanics.
I am not saying no games do this, but I am saying that such games tend to be less popular, more niche, their own subgenre.
They only write rules designed to be sidestepped eh
What’s the difference between building and manufacturing?
Scale.
Kiwi law or us law?
For that comment from frongt, it is in reference to US Law, not NZ Law.
Thank you
No prob!
Short version:
Ok, the actual legal status of this is quite complicated, I will ammend that section with more qualifiers.
Long version:
I’ll give you that at the Federal area, right now, this is not illegal, to make and possess your own unregistered, unserialized firearm… but if you go by the proportion of people that live in states or cities that have just outright made possession of a ghost gun a crime in and of itself…
https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/ghost-gun-legality-by-state
Yeah thats uh… at least ~126 million US residents where unregistered ghost guns are specifically some kind of illegal at the State level, and thats likely an undercount given that there are likely a lot of larger cities / counties that have their own restrictions, but are within States that don’t have them at that level…
So yeah, it is probably explicitly illegal by local/state law for about half the US by population to self mfg and/or possess a 3d printed gun with no serials / registration
Yeah, I live in one of those states. But even here, it’s legal to make with no serial number, you just have to register the creation.
Or at least that’s what the law was. I know it changed a few years ago, I haven’t bothered keeping up since it doesn’t affect me.
Genuinely didn’t know New Zealand is a federal system.
I think they are responding to the OP’s comment:
and would also potentially be somewhere between a misdemeanor and a felony depending on where you are in the US, as 3d printed firearms are generally without serial numbers and are thus ‘ghost guns’, which are often illegal if unregistered, if not outright banned, though this differs from state to state and city to city.
Which has nothing to do with NZ.
It’s not, they just don’t realise not everywhere is the US.
NZ doesn’t have states.
I… do realize that NZ is not the US, and was describing how this both is a crime in NZ, and is also probably a crime in the US.
Why exemplify the US?
… Because that is where Kash Patel is from, it is the country of which he is the leader of domestic federal law enforcement.
In US law, the difference between Federal and State law plays a large part in determining whether or not this is a crime… roughly speaking, half of the US population lives in an area where possession of an unserialized/unregistered 3d printed ghost gun is illegal.
Pistols are tightly restricted weapons under New Zealand law and possessing one requires an additional permit beyond a regular gun license.
Restricting pistols (i.e. the type of firearm most useful for crime and least useful for hunting or militia defense) more than long guns makes a ton of sense, and it’s a shame the US doesn’t do it that way too.
Also a bit harder to stuff a rifle in your pants
The US does have more restrictions on handguns than long guns in the same way. Youll notice in NZ you cant have a gun in general without a license, which obviously doesnt exist in the US. That said, federal law restricts ownership of handguns more than on long guns. 18 year olds can buy long guns and ammo for them, but cannot buy handguns nor handgun ammo. One has to be 21 or older to buy a handgun. Although legally an 18 year old can own a handgun if they are given it as a gift. But they still cant buy ammo for it themselves
So on the next visit, arrest him for smuggling illegal contraband. And issue an international arrest warrant for good measure.
I swear to fuck they’re using some kind of unhinged sentence generator to make all the headlines these days
It’s just AI
unhinged sentence generator
AI
theyre_the_same_picture.jpg
…and so the arrested him on the spot. Right?
The director of the FBI gives gifts to foreign officials… Which are 3D printed? No money for real gifts? xD
Because he’s a fucking moron.
Send that Worm-tongue back to from where he came, good people of New Zealand.
Better yet, into the fires of Mt. Doom.
So you’re saying that’s not where he’s from originally?
Hah, my Tolkien lore may not be quite up to snuff but uh…
… would that even matter?
This is a total dark pattern. The objective is to vilify 3D printing, and have the governments regulate sales of printing equipements, etc.
I appreciate your cynicism, but I think you’re vastly overestimating Kash Money’s capacity for subterfuge.
His capacity for looking inordinately startled, however, is off the hook.
Yeah, that shit slaps.
Kash Patel attempting to portray ‘innocuous, innocent’:
Why do you think I’m a cop, haha! No, I’m down with the chill bro, hip with the bip!
.
…
…
wherestheadreochromefarmiknowyourehidingitinsideofyourpizzadungeonyoubastard
That one of several places where a bunch of techbroligarchs are buying up land and building bunkers? 🤔
yo losers your loser laws are not for winners like me.
deleted by creator
FBI Director Kash Patel gave the country’s police and spy bosses gifts of inoperable pistols
US FBI Director Kash Patel visits New Zealand, immediately provides local officials with 3d printed, potentially operable firearms…
Why do you change the narrative of the article you linked?
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I tried to demark a clear difference between the quoted text of the article, and my own editorializing, not in a quote block.
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If you read the actual article, it does actually describe that the reason why these 3d printed weapons were destroyed by the NZ police was that they were assessed as ‘potentially operable firearms’.
From the article:
Inoperable weapons are treated as though they’re operable in New Zealand if modifications could make them workable again. The pistols were judged by gun regulators to be potentially operable and were destroyed, New Zealand’s Police Commissioner Richard Chambers told AP in a statement Tuesday.
I did not change the narrative, I simply read more of the article than the initial subset I presented in a quote block.
Please actually read the whole article, not just the preview sampler.
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