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Fined for importing a Airsoft gun

Bighit

Bighit

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www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk

Police urge public to be 'responsible' after father ordered gun gift online

Police have warned the public it is their responsibility to make sure they are not breaking the law by ordering certain items online.
www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk


The court heard how Dodson had ordered the gun as a present for his son because it resembled a weapon used on his son's "favourite video game" Fortnite, and that he didn't realise it was an offence to import it.

He was fined £300 by the court and ordered to pay an additional £120 in surcharge and £85 in costs.
 
I'm surprised it made it through customs without a UKARA, it's not the import part that was the problem
 
Harold said:
I'm surprised it made it through customs without a UKARA, it's not the import part that was the problem
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It would have been customs that alerted the Police . They would have found it then alerted the Police to visit the person who tried to import it .

The same as they do with other items that may be imported illegally like Belt Buckle knives as a member on here found out.
 
Last edited:
Bighit said:
It would have been customs that alerted the Police . They would have found it then alerted the Police to visit the person who tried to import it .

The same as they do with other items that may be imported illegally like Belt Buckle knives as a member on here found out.
Click to expand...
Exactly this. One of my friends got a visit after he imported genuine Sig Sauer pistol grips from the US to use on the Airsoft gun because no where in the UK stocked them.

He explained, showed them the weapons, and they let him have them.
 
He should have bought one (already here) in the UK.
Admittedly he would probably have to have it in a different colour, but it saves all the grief.
 
Border Force are a law unto themselves when it comes to guns of any type. If they decide to class an airgun as a RIF they will never admit they are wrong, an official from BF told me they decide what is and isn’t legal. Even though air guns come under the 1968 act and are legally firearms, so could never be classed as an imitation firearm.
I would never purchase any type of gun from overseas personally, to much risk. Even people with UKARA defence get problems.
 
Novioman said:
Border Force are a law unto themselves when it comes to guns of any type. If they decide to class an airgun as a RIF they will never admit they are wrong, an official from BF told me they decide what is and isn’t legal. Even though air guns come under the 1968 act and are legally firearms, so could never be classed as an imitation firearm.
I would never purchase any type of gun from overseas personally, to much risk. Even people with UKARA defence get problems.
Click to expand...


One member on the old AGF had a HW50 seized . He fought them and got it but many others would be scared to fight them as if they lost they were being billed a minimum of £2500 for the BF fee's alone then there was the persons legal expenses.

Not just airguns either .

They are seizing legal knives and sending threats of court action if you want to fight them . Some have fought and won.
 
When I had all the trouble with BF and documented it all on here, I had a few people contact me for advice, all of them had airguns seized and classed as imitation firearms, one was a spring HW air rifle one was a FAS target pistol.
 
I bought an AGT Vulcan from Mundilar, Portugal. It arrived 2 weeks ago. Took 2 days to get to Donnington, and sat there for 5 days. I was asked for an RIF Form by UPS, I forwarded the request to Mundilar, as they requested.
The rifle was delivered 2 days later.
Brilliant service, would do it again, no problems.

Paul.
 
Novioman said:
Border Force are a law unto themselves when it comes to guns of any type. If they decide to class an airgun as a RIF they will never admit they are wrong, an official from BF told me they decide what is and isn’t legal. Even though air guns come under the 1968 act and are legally firearms, so could never be classed as an imitation firearm.
I would never purchase any type of gun from overseas personally, to much risk. Even people with UKARA defence get problems.
Click to expand...

And don’t I know that…
 
Paulsgt said:
I bought an AGT Vulcan from Mundilar, Portugal. It arrived 2 weeks ago. Took 2 days to get to Donnington, and sat there for 5 days. I was asked for an RIF Form by UPS, I forwarded the request to Mundilar, as they requested.
The rifle was delivered 2 days later.
Brilliant service, would do it again, no problems.

Paul.
Click to expand...
Why were you asked for a RIF form for a air gun.
 
Paulsgt said:
I bought an AGT Vulcan from Mundilar, Portugal. It arrived 2 weeks ago. Took 2 days to get to Donnington, and sat there for 5 days. I was asked for an RIF Form by UPS, I forwarded the request to Mundilar, as they requested.
The rifle was delivered 2 days later.
Brilliant service, would do it again, no problems.

Paul.
Click to expand...
I had Mundilar in my radar for a while now, never got the courage to make an order. Thanks for sharing!
 
Paulsgt said:
Because UPS haven't a clue what they're talking about!
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This is spot on. But is it just what they are told by Border Force/ Customs? It seems if they see a word such as "gun" anywhere on the paperwork, instead of investigating exactly what it is they go straight for the red button.
My son recently imported three rifle stocks from Boyds in the US. When they arrived in UK UPS sent him an email saying there was a delay and sent the forms for importation of a firearm. He promptly wrote back saying they were pieces of wood and the forms were not relevant.
To be fair to them he got an email an hour later saying they had the information they needed and the package had been cleared.
 
Good Lord, what an expensive mistake to make. A few years back, I got stung buying in some magazines from US for an airsoft gun. Was contacted by border force/ customs and was asked if I knew what they were for etc.... yes - plastic ball firing toy guns. Said to them I'm not a member of UKARA but do hold a sgc and a fac, had to send copies of them before they would release the 2 magazines. Then to add insult to injury Parcel Farce decided hold my package hostage until I paid up a load of more money to deliver them.

Have you read some of the comments on the news article..... all the antigun brigade spouting BS. How many of us played war games as kids ( read comics like battle, commando etc), cowboys and indians being shot in gunfights etc... we don't go around shooting people, these antis and Karens need to wind their necks in a bit.
 
Back in the day when you could still order parts from Brownells in the USA, I ordered 50 x 12 gauge practice cartridges. These are the same size and weight as a real shell but with no primer or gunpowder and the packaging and paperwork reflected this. They were held in Birmingham for so long that Brownells thought they were lost in transit and a second order was dispatched that came through Heathrow and were delivered. Meanwhile Birmingham clearing house eventually got in touch and asked for my Shotgun Certificate. I had to delete my email a number of times and eventually decided that it was just easier to send a copy of the SGC. To their credit, Brownells did not want any kind of payment or return etc, they just took it in their stride. I always found the Birmingham office took longer to process incoming packages than Heathrow.
 
UPS are hopeless, purchased a MDT stock from Canada. MDT asked for a statement of use from to be filled in so they could get the permit sorted their end, duly done then they use UPS and twice they asked me for a RIF once to leave the USA and again when it arrived in the UK, which it didn't require
It got from Canada to the UK in 7 days then spent 3 days in their UK depot 28miles from me, twice they gave a delivery date and out for delivery status and twice they failed, 3rd time they gave a date but no out for delivery status on their site, but it did get delivered that day :rolleyes:
 
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