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On a chilly January day in 2012, at the Sands Convention Centre in Las Vegas, Wisconsin gun manufacturer Andy Huebschmann met Victorian mechanic Paul Munro. It was a meeting about “killing machines” that years later would lead to prison sentences for both men. Huebschmann and Munro, attracted to Sin City by the world’s largest gun and hunting trade show, hatched a sophisticated and potentially deadly plan. Huebschmann, 59, made weapons, including the Thureon machine gun which can fire up to 1000 rounds per minute, and Munro, 65, wanted to buy and smuggle them to Australia and sell them at a huge mark-up. US District Judge William Griesbach, in sentencing Huebschmann to two years’ prison on Monday in his Green Bay, Wisconsin courtroom for violating the US Arms Export Control Act, noted the “extremely dangerous nature of the crime” that “called out for punishment”. The sentence, however, fell well short of the potential maximum 20-year prison term for the charge. In 2018, Victoria’s County Court Judge Douglas Trapnell sentenced Munro to at least six years’ prison but in May this year, Victorian Supreme Court Justices David Beach and Stephen McLeish ruled that was too lenient. They almost doubled Munro’s prison term to 15 years, with an 11-year non-parole period. “Munro engaged in persistent, planned, sophisticated offending to bring into Australia mass killing machines,” the justices said. US prosecutors described in their plea agreement with Huebschmann how one of his guns was used by criminals in Australia. “In 2016, Australian law enforcement recovered a Huebschmann-manufactured fully-automatic machine gun after it was used in a high-profile armed robbery,” a plea agreement signed by US prosecutors and Huebschmann states. The men met in 2012 when Huebschmann, the proprietor of firearm manufacturing companies Thureon Defense and Sunny Hill Enterprises in New Holstein, Wisconsin, had an exhibit at the Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trade Show in Las Vegas. Known by the acronym SHOT, the show boasts 20km of aisles or “just a little less than the distance of a half marathon” of gun and other exhibits. More than 60,000 shooting, hunting, outdoors and law enforcement professionals attend the trade show. Huebschmann agreed to manufacture numerous firearms and parts for Munro so they could be exported to Australia. “These exports included rifle kits, which contained the component parts for rifles that could function with either semi-automatic or fully automatic triggers, and 1911 (handgun) firearm frames that could be assembled into completed pistols,” the plea agreement states. The agreement also describes how Huebschmann’s earlier shipments included guns with his “Thureon” logo but in 2015, he agreed to sell Munro firearms without the stamp. “Huebschmann removed this branding at Munro’s request after Munro told Huebschmann that one of the guns had been ‘picked up’ by law enforcement in Australia,” the plea agreement continues. “Huebschmann manufactured these firearm components without any markings, including serial numbers.” The men also worked together to ship the guns from the US to Australia. “Munro, with assistance from others, constructed a shipping crate that had a secret compartment concealed in the floor and delivered the crate to Huebschmann at Thureon’s office in Wisconsin,” the plea deal continues. “Huebschmann packed the crate with six rifle kits as well as thirty 1911 slides and frames. “In March of 2015, Huebschmann sent the crate to a freight forwarder in California, at Munro’s instruction, aware that the crate was destined for Australia.” Huebschmann was paid $US1000 for each rifle kit and a total of $US2000 for the 1911 slides and frames he shipped in March of 2015. At Munro’s Victorian proceedings, the court heard Munro was reselling the Thureon rifles in Australia for $A15,000 each, and charging $A5000 for handguns. Munro was arrested in Geelong in 2016 after he set up a deal to sell 15 firearms for $A110,000 to an undercover operative. Australian Associated Press
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On a chilly January day in 2012, at the Sands Convention Centre in Las Vegas, Wisconsin gun manufacturer Andy Huebschmann met Victorian mechanic Paul Munro.
It was a meeting about “killing machines” that years later would lead to prison sentences for both men.
Huebschmann and Munro, attracted to Sin City by the world’s largest gun and hunting trade show, hatched a sophisticated and potentially deadly plan.
Huebschmann, 59, made weapons, including the Thureon machine gun which can fire up to 1000 rounds per minute, and Munro, 65, wanted to buy and smuggle them to Australia and sell them at a huge mark-up.
US District Judge William Griesbach, in sentencing Huebschmann to two years’ prison on Monday in his Green Bay, Wisconsin courtroom for violating the US Arms Export Control Act, noted the “extremely dangerous nature of the crime” that “called out for punishment”.
The sentence, however, fell well short of the potential maximum 20-year prison term for the charge.
In 2018, Victoria’s County Court Judge Douglas Trapnell sentenced Munro to at least six years’ prison but in May this year, Victorian Supreme Court Justices David Beach and Stephen McLeish ruled that was too lenient.
They almost doubled Munro’s prison term to 15 years, with an 11-year non-parole period.
“Munro engaged in persistent, planned, sophisticated offending to bring into Australia mass killing machines,” the justices said.
US prosecutors described in their plea agreement with Huebschmann how one of his guns was used by criminals in Australia.
“In 2016, Australian law enforcement recovered a Huebschmann-manufactured fully-automatic machine gun after it was used in a high-profile armed robbery,” a plea agreement signed by US prosecutors and Huebschmann states.
The men met in 2012 when Huebschmann, the proprietor of firearm manufacturing companies Thureon Defense and Sunny Hill Enterprises in New Holstein, Wisconsin, had an exhibit at the Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trade Show in Las Vegas.
Known by the acronym SHOT, the show boasts 20km of aisles or “just a little less than the distance of a half marathon” of gun and other exhibits.
More than 60,000 shooting, hunting, outdoors and law enforcement professionals attend the trade show.
Huebschmann agreed to manufacture numerous firearms and parts for Munro so they could be exported to Australia.
“These exports included rifle kits, which contained the component parts for rifles that could function with either semi-automatic or fully automatic triggers, and 1911 (handgun) firearm frames that could be assembled into completed pistols,” the plea agreement states.
The agreement also describes how Huebschmann’s earlier shipments included guns with his “Thureon” logo but in 2015, he agreed to sell Munro firearms without the stamp.
“Huebschmann removed this branding at Munro’s request after Munro told Huebschmann that one of the guns had been ‘picked up’ by law enforcement in Australia,” the plea agreement continues.
“Huebschmann manufactured these firearm components without any markings, including serial numbers.”
The men also worked together to ship the guns from the US to Australia.
“Munro, with assistance from others, constructed a shipping crate that had a secret compartment concealed in the floor and delivered the crate to Huebschmann at Thureon’s office in Wisconsin,” the plea deal continues.
“Huebschmann packed the crate with six rifle kits as well as thirty 1911 slides and frames.
“In March of 2015, Huebschmann sent the crate to a freight forwarder in California, at Munro’s instruction, aware that the crate was destined for Australia.”
Huebschmann was paid $US1000 for each rifle kit and a total of $US2000 for the 1911 slides and frames he shipped in March of 2015.
At Munro’s Victorian proceedings, the court heard Munro was reselling the Thureon rifles in Australia for $A15,000 each, and charging $A5000 for handguns.
Munro was arrested in Geelong in 2016 after he set up a deal to sell 15 firearms for $A110,000 to an undercover operative.
Australian Associated Press
