A man charged with stealing a decommissioned missile launcher and a cache of firearm parts has told a court he thought they were scrap metal.
Police seized the empty surface-to-air missile launcher, an empty missile carrier and a large number of firearm parts including rifle barrels, magazines, firing pins and trigger assemblies, during a search of a home in South Plympton, in Adelaide’s southern suburbs, on Saturday.
On Monday, Andrew Lambert, 55, appeared in Adelaide Magistrates Court charged with serious criminal trespass, two counts of dishonestly taking property, possessing a firearm, failing to comply with a bail agreement and contravening the Firearms Act.
Lambert told Magistrate Joanna Martin that police had told him “the missile thing wasn’t real, it didn’t even work”.
“I thought it was just, like, from the army disposals place, and the parts were in all pieces and I was thinking scrap metal, that was all,” he said.
Prosecutor Chloe Kourakis opposed bail because of the seriousness of the offences.
“I guess the most concerning object that was found was the missile launcher, which is very uncommon but also very dangerous,” she said.
Lambert told the court his father had passed away in November and he also needed to go home to look after his 15-year-old Jack Russell.
Ms Martin remanded Lambert in custody to reappear on January 7, pending a home detention report.
Police also recovered multiple medals and a military backpack, allegedly stolen from another home in South Plympton.
