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Law enforcement have seized over 1,000 guns and weapon pieces as part of a sweep focusing on the spread of unlawful guns in Australia and New Zealand.

Cross-Border Effort Leads to Apprehensions and Recoveries

A seven-day cross-border initiative culminated in over 180 apprehensions, according to border officials, and the recovery of 281 privately manufactured firearms and components, such as items made by three-dimensional printers.

Regional Revelations and Detentions

Within NSW, authorities discovered numerous 3D printers together with pistols of a certain design, magazines and custom-made holders, among other items.

Regional police said they apprehended 45 individuals and confiscated 518 guns and firearm parts in the course of the operation. Numerous persons were faced with crimes among them the manufacture of prohibited firearms without a licence, importing banned items and possessing a electronic design for creation of weapons – an offense in various jurisdictions.

“Such 3D printed components may look colourful, but they are serious items. When put together, they turn into lethal weapons – completely illegal and highly hazardous,” a high-ranking officer commented in a statement. “For this purpose we’re aiming at the complete pipeline, from fabrication tools to imported parts.

“Public safety is the foundation of our firearms licensing system. Shooters must be registered, weapons must be registered, and conformity is mandatory.”

Growing Issue of Privately Made Weapons

Statistics collected for an investigation reveals that in the last half-decade over 9,000 weapons have been lost to theft, and that currently, law enforcement made seizures of DIY guns in the majority of state and territory.

Judicial files show that the digital designs now created within the country, driven by an internet group of developers and supporters that support an “unlimited right to keep and bear arms”, are increasingly reliable and dangerous.

During the last few years the development has been from “highly unskilled, minimally functional, practically single-use” to superior guns, police said earlier.

Customs Interceptions and Online Sales

Parts that are difficult to additively manufactured are frequently ordered from online retailers overseas.

An experienced customs agent commented that over 8,000 illegal firearms, components and add-ons had been discovered at the frontier in the last financial year.

“Foreign-sourced gun components are often put together with further DIY pieces, forming risky and unregistered firearms appearing on our communities,” the officer stated.

“Many of these items are available for purchase by e-commerce sites, which may lead individuals to wrongly believe they are not controlled on shipment. A lot of these websites simply place orders from international for the customer without any considerations for customs laws.”

Further Confiscations Across Several Areas

Seizures of products such as a projectile launcher and flame-thrower were further executed in the state of Victoria, Western Australia, the island state and the Northern Territory, where law enforcement stated they found several homemade weapons, in addition to a additive manufacturing device in the isolated community of a specific location.