🔗 Share this article

Police taken possession of in excess of 1,000 firearms and weapon pieces during a operation aimed at the spread of illegal firearms in Australia and New Zealand.

Cross-Border Initiative Results in Arrests and Recoveries

This extended transnational operation culminated in more than 180 arrests, according to border officials, and the confiscation of 281 DIY weapons and pieces, such as items created with three-dimensional printers.

Local Finds and Arrests

Across the state of NSW, police found multiple three-dimensional printers alongside glock-style pistols, cartridge holders and 3D-printed holsters, among other items.

State law enforcement said they arrested 45 people and took possession of 518 firearms and firearm parts during the initiative. Multiple individuals were charged with offences such as the production of illegal weapons unlicensed, shipping prohibited goods and having a digital blueprint for production of weapons – a crime in certain regions.

“Those fabricated pieces could seem colourful, but they are far from playthings. When put together, they are transformed into lethal weapons – totally unlawful and very risky,” a high-ranking officer said in a statement. “That’s why we’re aiming at the entire network, from fabrication tools to overseas components.

“Community security sits at the core of our firearms licensing system. Firearm users need to be licensed, weapons are obliged to be recorded, and adherence is mandatory.”

Increasing Issue of Homemade Firearms

Data collected during an probe shows that during the previous five years more than 9,000 firearms have been reported stolen, and that currently, authorities conducted confiscations of homemade weapons in almost every regional jurisdiction.

Judicial files show that the computer blueprints being manufactured in Australia, powered by an internet group of creators and advocates that promote an “absolute freedom to possess firearms”, are increasingly reliable and lethal.

Over the past three to four years the trend has been from “extremely amateur, barely operational, practically single-use” to superior guns, police stated at the time.

Customs Interceptions and Digital Sales

Pieces that cannot be reliably additively manufactured are often ordered from e-commerce sites internationally.

An experienced border official stated that in excess of 8,000 illicit weapons, components and accessories had been detected at the customs checkpoint in the last financial year.

“Foreign-sourced weapon pieces are often put together with other privately manufactured parts, forming risky and unregistered firearms appearing on our communities,” the officer added.

“A lot of these goods are offered by online retailers, which may lead individuals to wrongly believe they are not controlled on import. A lot of these services only arrange transactions from abroad on the buyer’s behalf without any considerations for border rules.”

Other Confiscations Throughout Various Territories

Recoveries of products such as a projectile launcher and incendiary device were further executed in the state of Victoria, the WA region, Tasmania and the the NT, where authorities said they discovered a number of privately manufactured guns, along with a additive manufacturing device in the remote town of Nhulunbuy.