3D-printed guns FBI boss Kash Patel gifted to New Zealand officials were toy-inspired revolvers

Inoperable pistols gifted by FBI Director Kash Patel to senior New Zealand security officials were revolvers inspired by toy Nerf guns and popular among amateur 3D-printed weapons hobbyists, documents show.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Inoperable pistols gifted by FBI Director Kash Patel to senior New Zealand security officials, who had to relinquish them for destruction because they were illegal to possess, were revolvers inspired by toy Nerf guns and popular among amateur 3D-printed weapons hobbyists, documents obtained by The Associated Press show.

The AP first reported that Patel gifted plastic 3D-printed replica revolvers as part of display stands given to New Zealand’s police and spy chiefs, along with two cabinet ministers in July. Police documents released this week identified the model as the Maverick PG22, a working revolver modeled on the brightly colored toy gun of the same name.

Pistols are tightly restricted under New Zealand law, requiring a permit beyond a standard gun license. Law enforcement agencies did not say whether the officials who met with Patel held such permits, but without them they could not have legally kept the gifts.

After the officials surrendered the revolvers, emails between police leaders and firearms specialists confirmed the gifts met the legal definition of firearms under New Zealand’s strict laws. 3D-printed weapons are treated the same as other guns in New Zealand.

Patel, the highest-ranking Trump administration official to visit New Zealand, was in Wellington to open the FBI’s first standalone office in the country. A spokesperson for Patel did not respond to a request for comment on Monday.