Guns ‘designed to be used by peasants’ in Vietnam find new purpose on the front line of Sydney’s criminal underworld

An antique firearm once used against Australian soldiers in the jungles of Vietnam has found a new lease on life as the weapon of choice for young and impressionable foot soldiers in the country’s criminal underworld.

The Simonov SKS, a semi-automatic rifle first produced more than half a century ago, has repeatedly found itself at the center of gang-related incidents in Sydney and other parts of Australia over the past decade.

Since 2020, at least 10 SKS rifles have been seized by NSW police; The latest of these was seized in a Task Force Falcon raid that uncovered weapons believed to have been used in a pair of drive-by shootings in Sydney’s west earlier this year.

Including other states, there have been at least 15 arrests, shootings and seizures involving SKS rifles in the past decade.

In June, footage emerged of a young man firing nearly 30 shots from a model SKS into a funeral parlor where a memorial service was planned for Sydney gang member Lorenzo Lemalu, who was shot dead.

Due to a last-second venue change, most of the building was empty and no one was injured in the shocking attack that came to light.

These Cold War-era weapons, which were mass-produced in China between 1956 and 1980, have also been unearthed in South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory in the last three years.

Despite its age and simple wooden appearance, SKS rifles are deadly and can fire 35 to 40 rounds per minute.

In 2017, Queensland Police Constable Brett Forte was killed when a man he was chasing through bushland in Toowoomba brandished a modified SKS and shot him twice in a planned ambush.

SKS rifles do not require any form of manual reloading between shots, and some modified versions (such as the one allegedly used in passing a funeral home) can hold at least 30 rounds.

Once upon a time, these rifles were not just a niche weapon used by young people to do the dirty work of gangs.

As one antique gun collector told NewsWire, they were “selling like hot buns” in the 1980s and early ’90s.

Tom Kenyon, chief executive of the Australian Sport Shooters Association, said a “tremendous number” of guns were being overproduced and shipped to Australia before the Port Arthur massacre disrupted the national firearms industry.

“The Chinese produced (SKS rifles) in enormous numbers and there was a lot of surplus floating around by 1996. They were readily available, you could simply order them by mail,” Mr Kenyon said.

“In NSW you didn’t need to register a firearm and you could have a semi-automatic and people were using them to hunt pigs.

“I would say almost all of them surrendered in 1996. Everyone was given their semi-automatics and they were paid fair compensation… a used one was $250, a new one was $450.”

Mr Kenyon said he had heard “made up stories” from friends and colleagues of people “burying them or not turning them in at all”, but he had not heard any verifiable accounts of the incident.

“Their reappearance means either some were sold on the black market years ago or someone imported them illegally,” he said.

In August 2018, Australian Border Force notified NSW Police about a cache of weapons and ammunition, including the SKS and various other firearm parts and accessories, at a house in Richmond, north-west of Sydney.

Gun Control Australia vice president Roland Browne said firearms were “absolutely” buried after Port Arthur, creating a “grey gun market” that had never before been recorded in the country.

“We knew these firearms were buried. In fact, there were some stores in the north of the state that were sold out because poly pipe was escaping,” he said.

“People were putting rifles into the pipes, covering them with candles and burying them all. I’m guessing a lot of guns were buried in 1996, so inevitably they’ll resurface.”

“There were a lot of guns in circulation, but because guns were not registered in those days we had no idea how many had made it to Australia or how many had been sold.”

Mr Browne was an advocate for banning SKS rifles in Australia in the late 1980s, and he and his friend Paul bought one for $100 from a gun shop in Hobart as a demonstration just before going to a press conference.

“15 incidents are too many. 15 incidents are too many. These types of weapons are illegal and pose a serious threat to the police who try to find and seize these weapons,” he said.

“These weapons are designed to kill people. They don’t even claim to be sporting weapons; they are military-made firearms. We saw this in Wieambilla, we saw what happened to (Dezi) Freeman in Victoria. The continued circulation of these weapons puts the police at risk.”

“We remain concerned and applaud the police and the steps they may take to seize and destroy such weapons.”

The latest appearance of the SKS came during a NSW Police raid at Punchbowl in Sydney’s west on July 7, when an older-looking version of the gun was found among a cache of weapons, drugs and ammunition.

Other firearms seized by police during the raid were similarly worn.

Taskforce Falcon commander Detective Inspector Jason Box said it didn’t mean much that the guns were old and they were “still as dangerous as any modern firearm”.

“No matter the age of these firearms, they are still effective. The task force has seized about 60 firearms so far. They may be new, custom-made or older, but they are all in working order,” he said.

“For criminals, it’s any resource they can get their hands on. I don’t think they tend to look at make, model or vintage, they’ll take whatever they can. (Old guns) are just as effective and just as dangerous.”

Inspector Box’s views were echoed by Mr Kenyon, who said the SKS was a “robust” weapon designed to be easily operated in harsh environments.

“A well-maintained firearm will last a long time, and the SKS was pretty tough. It’s entirely possible they’re still fully functional… I’m not sure how well criminals maintain their firearms, but they were designed to be used primarily by hillbillies… guys with little formal training straight from the farm,” he said.

“They are built for use in mud, snow and harsh conditions, so they are very durable.”

According to the Australian Federal Police, it is estimated that there are approximately 260,000 firearms circulating in Australia’s illicit market.

“When Australia tightened its gun laws in 1996, some guns were not handed over as part of a buyback plan,” AFP said.

“Some are even produced illegally using 3D printing. They can also be imported illegally.”

NSW Police have not confirmed how many legally owned SKS rifles are in circulation, but a freedom of information request in 2020 showed there were 128 legally owned SKS and SKS variant rifles in the state.