Drugs and guns: Man busted importing GBL, then caught making 3D Glock pistols at home

A man was caught making 3D firearms after Customs discovered he was importing GBL in bottles of liquid eyelash remover.

Customs went on to discover Ben Driver had imported 12kg of the drug over 10 months and sold it to persons unknown.

When police raided his Thames home in May last year, they found him in the middle of manufacturing three Glock pistols and with a stash of .22 ammunition, the most commonly used in the weapons.

Detective Senior Sergeant Lisa Anderson, of the National Organised Crime Group, told NZME earlier this year that 3D printed firearms were an area they were concerned about because of the rapid escalation.

She said 3D firearms were being printed in people’s houses and garages, and there was a “definite increase” in what police were seeing and seizing.

In 2022, only two 3D-printed firearms were seized.

By December 2025 the count had reached 87.

Driver appeared for sentencing in the Hamilton District Court on Monday on charges of importing and possessing GBL for supply, illegal manufacture of firearms for sale, unlawful possession of firearms and explosives.

His counsel Gerard Walsh tried to get him a home detention sentence, but Judge Arthur Tompkins had another idea.

Driver’s offending unravelled on June 6, 2024, when New Zealand Customs intercepted a package containing 300ml of GBL concealed in an eyelash remover liquid bottle.

It had been ordered by Driver over the internet. The package was addressed to him and sent to his house in Thames.

Customs then discovered that between April 4, 2024, and February 28, 2025, 44 similar packages had been imported by Driver and then supplied to persons unknown.

It was estimated Driver imported just over 12kg of GBL during that time.

On May 22, last year, police searched his property and found a 3D printing machine in the process of printing “what appeared to be a firearms suppressor”.

Police also found completed 3D parts and other components to make three Glock-style pistols, one of which was fully assembled.

A quantity of rounds of .22 ammunition were also found, along with GBL, a meth pipe and a “small but useable amount of methamphetamine”.

When interviewed by police, Driver admitted importing the GBL for his use and that of his friends and associates, and admitted smoking and possessing meth.

However, he asserted he had been given the 3D printer and parts by an associate and that the part being manufactured was his “first attempt” in printing a firearms part.

‘He’s undertaken positive change’

Driver’s counsel Gerard Walsh said his client couldn’t hide from his previous criminal history and instead focussed on discounts he submitted he should be eligible for.

He had also been on electronically monitored bail for 12 months, and gainfully employed on a local farm without issue.

Walsh also pushed for credits for his client’s drug addiction, along with background factors and the fact that he is a father of two children, one of whom was often in his care.

“Positive change has been undertaken by him. He does have solid, ongoing employment and you can consider a sentence of home detention.”

He had also spent four months in custody after being arrested.

Ben Driver, of Thames, was jailed for three years and three months on Monday. Photo / Belinda Feek

Crown prosecutor James Lewis pushed for a starting point of three years’ jail with an additional 12 months for the remaining charges.

As for discounts, Driver had pleaded guilty on the morning of trial “and in circumstances where the Crown had a very strong case as he was found in possession of both firearms and the controlled drugs for which he appears today”.

He conceded he should get a 10% credit for his addiction, but said there should be a 5% uplift for his history.

Judge Tompkins noted Driver previously had four sentences of home detention but had good compliance.

Against that, though, Driver had imported the GBL and continued to smoke meth.

However, all of his drug tests while on bail were negative.

Weighing the factors, the judge said he was “reluctantly” unable to get down to where Driver would be eligible for home detention.

“The cumulative effect of not only a very large quantity of controlled drugs imported by the defendant and over a period close to a year with 44 separate importations, together with the obvious risks presented both to police but also to the community of Mr Driver being actively involved in 3D printing useable firearms mean that although I accept that for the importation charges a starting point of three years’ jail is appropriate, also an uplift of one year for the Arms Act charges.”

He reduced the four years by nine months for his guilty pleas and background factors.

However, based on the information he had before him, he didn’t believe any further credits were warranted.

The judge noted the importation of “such a large amount” of drugs over 10 months, and was satisfied Driver should be jailed.

Judge Tompkins sent Driver to prison for three years and three months.

Belinda Feek is an Open Justice reporter based in Waikato. She has worked at NZME for 11 years and has been a journalist for 22.