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Law enforcement have seized in excess of 1,000 weapons and gun parts as part of a crackdown aimed at the proliferation of illicit firearms in Australia and its neighbor.

International Initiative Culminates in Detentions and Recoveries

The week-long international effort led to in excess of 180 arrests, based on statements from customs agents, and the recovery of 281 DIY guns and components, among them units made by additive manufacturing devices.

Regional Finds and Apprehensions

Within NSW, law enforcement discovered multiple three-dimensional printers in addition to semi-automatic handguns, magazines and 3D-printed holsters, in addition to various pieces.

Regional police stated they detained 45 people and confiscated 518 firearms and weapon pieces as part of the effort. Several individuals were accused of violations such as the production of illegal weapons unlicensed, importing banned items and owning a computer file for production of weapons – a crime in certain regions.

“Those fabricated pieces may look bright, but they are not toys. When put together, they turn into deadly arms – totally unlawful and very risky,” an experienced detective said in a statement. “That’s why we’re targeting the full supply chain, from fabrication tools to imported parts.

“Community security forms the basis of our weapon control program. Firearm users need to be authorized, guns are obliged to be recorded, and compliance is mandatory.”

Increasing Trend of DIY Weapons

Information collected during an probe reveals that over the past five years in excess of 9,000 guns have been taken illegally, and that currently, authorities conducted confiscations of homemade weapons in the majority of regional jurisdiction.

Judicial files reveal that the digital designs currently produced within the country, powered by an online community of creators and supporters that support an “complete liberty to keep and bear arms”, are increasingly reliable and dangerous.

Over the past several years the development has been from “very novice, barely operational, practically single-use” to more advanced guns, law enforcement stated earlier.

Border Interceptions and Digital Sales

Components that cannot be reliably fabricated are frequently purchased from digital stores internationally.

A high-ranking customs agent commented that over 8,000 illicit weapons, components and attachments had been detected at the border in the most recent accounting period.

“Foreign-sourced weapon pieces are often put together with additional privately manufactured pieces, producing dangerous and untraceable weapons making their way to our communities,” the agent added.

“Numerous of these items are offered by e-commerce sites, which might cause users to wrongly believe they are unregulated on shipment. Many of these services only arrange transactions from international for the customer with no regard for import regulations.”

Further Recoveries Across Multiple Areas

Confiscations of products such as a bow weapon and incendiary device were also made in the state of Victoria, Western Australia, Tasmania and the the central territory, where law enforcement reported they discovered several privately manufactured firearms, along with a fabrication tool in the remote town of the named area.