A Coromandel gun collector is to stand trial for allegedly running a black market gun operation.
John Mabey claimed more than 120 weapons were stolen from his Coromandel home. He says he was burgled in July and burglars took 113 pistols, a couple of semi-automatic rifles and half a dozen machine guns.
But police investigating the break-in suspected a scam.
In a transcript of a police interview, a detective tells Mabey that a witness claims he facilitated the sale of weapons to approximately 30 to 40 people on Mabey's behalf.
The witness also says he went to Mabey's property and saw him grinding off serial numbers from the guns.
In the interview, Mabey said there was no truth behind the witness' claims.
After the alleged burglary police say there were still several loaded weapons at Mabey's home that the thieves had apparently ignored - but a locked gun cabinet had been emptied.
A policeman, a private investigator for an insurance company and a professional locksmith who inspected the cabinet all say the damage to the locks was superficial and they questioned whether it had actually been broken into.
Some of Mabey's guns have since been recovered. Two allegedly turned up in the possession Richard Duthie who is accused of shooting at police while on the run from methamphetamine charges.
Mabey denies knowing Duthie.
