Hells Angels tried to sell NSW Police its own stolen gun back

Hours after detective Mark Ellims left his police-issued firearm in a backpack under a table at McDonald’s, police were faced with a difficult choice. They could heed to the demands of the Hells Angels and pay thousands of dollars to get the gun back, or risk letting it circulate in Sydney’s underworld, hoping one day it turned up. The police chose the latter. The bet paid off. A few months later the stolen gun was discovered during a raid in Sydney’s southwest.

In April, 2013, an officer who was with colleagues at McDonald’s in Mascot accidentally left his back pack — with his Glock and ammunition inside — in the fast food restaurant. He raced back to find it less than an hour later, but local thief Benjamin John Aurisch had made already the most of the opportunity and pinched it. CCTV from inside McDonald’s captured Aurisch curiously peering at the unattended bag as he walked past it several times. He eventually rummaged through it and hit the jackpot. By the time police caught up with him hours later, Aurisch had already off-loaded the gun. The police gun passed through several hands until it reached the local Hells Angels bikie gang chapter. Aurisch was sentenced to a year for the theft.