Police bust hidden arsenal in Sha Tin and arrest ‘King of Guns’ Joseph Ho

An operation on Wednesday saw police bust a hidden arsenal in a Sha Tin storage unit and seize 18 pistols with over 100 rounds of ammunition in different calibers. A 67-year-old man was arrested and sources said the suspect is Joseph Ho Mang-keung, a shooting champion dubbed the “King of Guns”. 

During the operation, police also seized over 100 gun parts, a taser gun, 11 knives and four daggers. 

Police said the suspect was laid a holding charge of possessing firearms and ammunition without a license and possessing prohibited weapons. He will appear at Shatin Magistrates’ Courts this afternoon (Fri). 

So far, there is no evidence suggesting that the suspect is linked to cases of the anti-extradition bill movement or the radical protesters group “Dragon Slaying Brigade”, police added. 

Police believe the suspect is a gun zealot and collector and he once ran an arms dealing company, a movie props company, and a military models company in Hong Kong. He also used to be the person-in-charge of a shooting club. 

Records show that he had an individual license for possession of arms, a dealer’s license, and a license for possession of arms for his shooting club between 1990 and 2007. Yet, all licenses have been revoked since 2008. 

Police said they will investigate where the arms came from and added it is possible that the suspect purchased the weapons from overseas through illegal means, since some of the guns have German inscribed. 

A preliminary examination by police’s Forensic Firearms Examination Division found that all the guns and ammunition seized are authentic. Police said it will take some time before the division can confirm the power of the firearms and whether they have been fired before. 

According to records, Ho served four-and-a-half years in the mainland for arms trafficking. In September 2007, Ho was caught keeping over 350,000 rounds of ammunition, some 60 explosive devices, and one tube from an M136 AT4 anti-tank weapon in an industrial unit in Fo Tang. 

Ho was arrested and prosecuted in 2012 and was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment by the High Court in October 2013. 

Police reminded the public that the Firearms and Ammunition (Declaration of Arms) (Amendment) Regulation 2021 came into effect in November 2021. 

Under the regulation, specific components, i.e. barrel, chamber, cylinder, a frame, body, receiver, a breech block, bolt or other mechanisms for containing the pressure of discharge at the rear of a chamber, will also be within the definition of “arms”. 

Police warned that possessing firearms without a license is a serious criminal offense and the maximum penalty carries a HK$100,000 fine and 14 years’ imprisonment upon conviction. 

+3