COPS ON ALERT FOR FLASHLIGHT GUNS

Narcotics cops investigating a drug crew in the Bronx made a
startling discovery -- a gun disguised as a flashlight, law
enforcement sources said.

The recent find is the latest example of homemade weapons popping up
on city streets, Newsday has learned.

Several police sources noted that the attention law enforcement pays
to removing illegal guns from the streets, has forced criminals to
improvise and find ways to conceal weapons.

The disguised weapons, sources said, allow criminals, particularly
drug dealers, to stay armed without raising much suspicion.

The one-shot flashlight gun, as Police Commissioner Ray Kelly noted
in a departmental order issued last week to each NYPD command, 'has
the appearance of a flashlight but is capable of firing a round.'

'Officers should be cautioned to use extreme vigilance and remain
alert for dangerous weapons that may be disguised as ordinary items,'
Kelly's order stated.

The flashlight gun was seized during a recent narcotics raid in the
Bronx. The NYPD would not provide more details about the seized
weapon because of the pending investigation. It was not clear if the
flashlight gun fires its bullet by flicking the on/off switch or by
some other means.

The Pennsylvania Municipal Police Officers' Education & Training
Commission issued a similar alert recently about flashlight guns,
though the ones they warned about are slightly different than the
ones the NYPD highlighted. On its Web site, the commission warned of
a working flashlight capable of firing a .410 round as well as a
miniature version, which fires a .380 round.

Police routinely update members of the force about new developments
on the streets in New York City and elsewhere, including disguised
weapons and tricks used by drug dealers to hide their product.

A recent missive described a rapid-fire pistol disguised as a cell phone.

The shooter, the order noted, could fire up to four rounds by
pressing the numbers 5, 6, 7 or 8. So far, this type of weapon has
been found only overseas.

Other items turned from the pedestrian into the deadly, not
necessarily as guns, include combs and lipstick holders, all of which
have turned up in the city.

One NYPD officer, Sgt. Craig Meissner, in 2002 detailed in a book
about hidden contraband numerous other makeshift weapons that look
like something out of a James Bond movie.

The weapons, recovered by police in cities here and abroad, include
guns fashioned out of beepers and bike pumps.

Those are fairly ordinary compared to other items Meissner discovered
in his research. His list included cane guns and umbrella guns, the
latter of which could fire pellets dabbed with ricin, a lethal toxin.