Blundering detective left a loaded handgun in a MCDONALD'S – only for it to wind up in the hands of bikies who tried to sell it back to the police for thousands of dollars

  • Police detective left loaded gun in a McDonald's when he forgot his backpack
  • Stolen by local thief who gave it to a friend who later sold to Hell's Angles bikies
  • They tried to sell it back to police for tens of thousands but were refused
  • Gun turned up in a raid a few months later in 2013 but the saga was kept quiet

A detective left a loaded handgun in a McDonald's, only for it to fall into the hands of bikies who tried to sell it back to police.

Senior constable Mark Ellims was eating at the fast food outlet in Mascot, near Sydney Airport, on April 8, 2013, with five other plain-clothes officers.

An hour-and a-half after they left, he realised he'd left behind his grey backpack containing the gun and 30 bullets along with a police baton.

A police detective left a loaded Glock handgun in a McDonald's in 2013, where it was stolen

A police detective left a loaded Glock handgun in a McDonald's in 2013, where it was stolen

Senior constable Mark Ellims was eating at the Mascot McDonald's (pictured) and forgot a backpack containing the gun and 30 bullets

Senior constable Mark Ellims was eating at the Mascot McDonald's (pictured) and forgot a backpack containing the gun and 30 bullets

By the time he raced back to look for it, a thief named Benjamin John Aurisch had already swiped it in full view of CCTV cameras.

Police tracked him down within hours but he'd already offloaded the gun, ammunition and baton to his friend Col who was going to sell them.

He took them to a bin where he dumped a police badge, a warrant card, a pair of police gloves, a lunch box, a novel, a Bible, and a set of keys also in the backpack.

Aurisch led them to the garage where he handed the weapons off to Col, but his associate was long gone.

The Glock pistol passed through several hands and ended up with the local Hell's Angels gang, according to the Daily Telegraph.

The Glock pistol passed through several hands and ended up with the local Hell's Angels gang who tried to sell it back to police for tens of thousands of dollars (file picture)

The Glock pistol passed through several hands and ended up with the local Hell's Angels gang who tried to sell it back to police for tens of thousands of dollars (file picture)

The bikies tried to sell it back for tens of thousands of dollars and police refused in the hope it would turn up before it was used in a serious crime.

A few months later it was recovered raid on a house near Bankstown in Sydney's southwest, but the saga was kept under wraps for more than four years.

Aurisch was in October 2013 jailed for a year after pleading guilty to possessing a loaded firearm in a public place and possessing a prohibited weapon.

Senior constable Ellims faced 'internal disciplinary action' but went on to become a decorated drugs squad officer.

Benjamin John Aurisch had already swiped the backpack with the gun in full view of CCTV cameras at the McDonald's by the time police raced back to retrieve it

Benjamin John Aurisch had already swiped the backpack with the gun in full view of CCTV cameras at the McDonald's by the time police raced back to retrieve it

The gun was the last police firearm to go missing in NSW before one was stolen from an unlocked, unmarked police car in October.

A 16-year-old was later arrested for allegedly buying the gun for $600 but it has still not been found.

NSW Police said the matter was under investigation and as such it was not appropriate to comment.