Customer facing possible prosecution after box of mail-order weapons intercepted en route to Mid Ulster
The PSNI have announced that a package containing weapons has been intercepted on its way to an address in Mid Ulster.
The PSNI’s Mid Ulster Facebook page said that it had been ordered from “an offshore online retailer” and contained “one taser and an assortment of weapons”.
Officers from Cookstown then questioned the addressee.
"The buyer told officers they had ordered a ‘mystery box’ from an online weapons retailer and were unaware of the contents of their parcel,” they said.
"It should come as no mystery that a report file has been submitted to the Public Prosecution Service for importation offences.
"The robustness of that defence will be a matter for the courts to determine at a later date.”
But the police went on to add that this is “not an isolated case”, and is part of a “wider trend” of weapons being ordered online.
These come via “apps with endless flash sales, cheap pricing, and little interest in what they’re actually posting out to your door… or the law of the land”, and police advised people to “think before you click”.
"Our law enforcement partners in Border Force will intercept these packages at the port,” the PSNI post said.
"Mid Ulster Police will call to your door.
"By that time, it’s too late for a refund.”