Kash Patel's trip to NZ caused ripples because an FBI office opening wasn't divulged to the public. Photo: AP PHOTO

On a visit to New Zealand, FBI director Kash Patel gave NZ police and spy bosses gifts of inoperable pistols that were illegal to possess under local gun laws and had to be destroyed, law enforcement agencies told The Associated Press.

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The plastic 3D-printed replica pistols formed part of display stands Patel presented to at least three senior NZ security officials in July. Patel, the most senior Trump administration official to visit the country so far, was in Welling

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