🔗 Share this article

Law enforcement confiscated over 1,000 weapons and gun parts during a crackdown focusing on the circulation of illicit firearms in the nation and New Zealand.

Transnational Initiative Culminates in Arrests and Confiscations

A seven-day international operation resulted in over 180 apprehensions, as reported by immigration authorities, and the confiscation of 281 homemade firearms and parts, such as products produced using additive manufacturing devices.

Local Finds and Detentions

Across the state of NSW, authorities located several three-dimensional printers alongside semi-automatic handguns, cartridge holders and fabricated carrying cases, in addition to various pieces.

Regional police stated they apprehended 45 suspects and took possession of 518 guns and weapon pieces as part of the operation. Several individuals were charged with offences including the production of illegal firearms without a licence, shipping illegal products and having a digital blueprint for production of guns – an offense in various jurisdictions.

“Such additively manufactured parts might appear bright, but they are not toys. When put together, they become dangerous tools – completely illegal and highly hazardous,” a senior police official stated in a release. “That’s why we’re aiming at the full supply chain, from fabrication tools to foreign pieces.

“Public safety sits at the core of our gun registration framework. Shooters need to be licensed, firearms are obliged to be recorded, and compliance is absolute.”

Rising Trend of Privately Made Firearms

Information obtained for an investigation reveals that in the last half-decade in excess of 9,000 guns have been reported stolen, and that currently, police executed recoveries of homemade weapons in almost every administrative division.

Court records show that the computer blueprints currently produced in Australia, powered by an online community of creators and advocates that support an “absolute freedom to possess firearms”, are increasingly reliable and lethal.

Over the past few years the pattern has been from “very novice, barely operational, practically single-use” to more advanced weapons, authorities said at the time.

Customs Seizures and Web-Based Sales

Parts that cannot be reliably additively manufactured are often ordered from online retailers overseas.

An experienced immigration officer stated that more than 8,000 illicit firearms, pieces and accessories had been detected at the customs checkpoint in the previous fiscal year.

“Foreign-sourced firearm parts can be constructed with additional homemade pieces, creating hazardous and unregistered guns filtering onto our neighborhoods,” the official added.

“Numerous of these products are available for purchase by online retailers, which may lead people to wrongly believe they are not controlled on shipment. Many of these services only arrange transactions from overseas acting as an intermediary with no regard for customs laws.”

Other Recoveries Across Several Territories

Confiscations of objects including a bow weapon and fire projector were also made in the state of Victoria, Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory, where law enforcement reported they discovered multiple privately manufactured guns, as well as a additive manufacturing device in the isolated community of the named area.