Unlawful possession of category H firearm
In 2012 I bought a toy gun in Europe that fires 6mm plastic pellets. I declared it through customs on the passenger declaration card because I wasn't sure if it was allowed in QLD. Customs allowed it through. In Feb this year, my car was randomly searched and they seized it with a marijuana pipe and 2 clip seal bags with residue in them. I received a statement of witness from QPS forensics stating that it's was categorised as a Cat H firearm and have been issued with a notice to appear. Do I have grounds to plea not guilty for the weapons charge due to the fact that I did the right thing by declaring it and was allowed through? I have already appeared in court and pleaded guilty to the drug offence.
Hi there. In Queensland, the legislation governing the possession of weapons is the Weapons Act 1990 (Qld) and the Weapons Regulation 1996 (Qld). Other states and territories have similar laws.
Even if you did not know that the weapon was prohibited, it is still an offence to possess it without a licence or a valid defence. The fact that customs may have incorrectly allowed the weapon into the country, such that you did not realise the device was a category H weapon, is unlikely to be valid defence in a court of law.
However, you may have another defence open to you on different grounds. In relation to the unlawful possession of a short firearm in category H, possible defences include duress (being forced by someone else), necessity and mistaken identity. This is not an exhaustive list and the application of defences will depend on your individual situation.
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