Squad called out

Press, 16 September 1987, Page 7

Squad called out

PA Wellington A man seen in the grounds of the West German Embassy in Wellington with a firearm on Monday sparked a big diplomatic protection squad call-out.

But the firearm was found to be a broken airrifle that the man was taking to be repaired in a nearby sports store.

Police went to the scene after an alert Thorndon resident reported seeing the man enter the embassy with the firearm at about 4 p.m.

The man, who later said he was vice-president

of the Stormtrooper gang, was questioned by the police and, when it was found his intentions were within the law, was allowed to go with his rifle.

He left the rifle, wrapped in cardboard, by the embassy door when he went inside to inquire about a visa application. Later, the man aged 28, said that he believed he was being harrassed because the police knew him since he had spent eight years in Paremoremo maximum security prison. But he said on this occasion he was acting completely within his rights.

A police spokesman said the incident was a non-event. The man was not committing any offence and the matter would not be taken further.

The spokesman said it was standard procedure to investigate when someone was seen with a firearm in an urban area, regardless of their background. Embassy staff said they were not alarmed by the sight of the man and the rifle, but were more concerned by the German shepherd dog that he took into the embassy with him.