Overview
- FBI Director Kash Patel presented 3D-printed pistol replicas to senior security officials in Wellington during a July visit to open the bureau’s first standalone office in New Zealand.
- Recipients included Police Commissioner Richard Chambers, NZSIS Director-General Andrew Hampton, and GCSB Director-General Andrew Clark, and two ministers also confirmed receiving items.
- Officials sought guidance from the firearms regulator the day after the gifts were given, and the items were deemed potentially functional under New Zealand law.
- Chambers ordered the replicas seized and destroyed to ensure compliance, while the FBI declined to comment and it remains unclear whether any import or possession permissions were obtained.
- There are no indications of criminal charges, and Patel’s earlier comments about limiting China’s influence drew pushback as New Zealand agencies stressed cooperation on crimes like child exploitation and drug smuggling.