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Authorities have seized over 1,000 guns and gun parts during a operation focusing on the proliferation of illegal guns in Australia and New Zealand.

International Effort Leads to Arrests and Recoveries

This extended cross-border effort resulted in more than 180 arrests, according to immigration authorities, and the seizure of 281 DIY weapons and pieces, including products produced using additive manufacturing devices.

Local Discoveries and Arrests

Within NSW, police located multiple 3D printers together with glock-style pistols, cartridge holders and 3D-printed holsters, among other items.

Regional police stated they arrested 45 individuals and took possession of 518 firearms and gun components during the operation. Several suspects were accused of crimes such as the production of banned firearms without a licence, importing banned items and owning a computer file for creation of weapons – a crime in various jurisdictions.

“These fabricated pieces may look colourful, but they are not toys. After construction, they turn into deadly arms – totally unlawful and highly hazardous,” a senior police official commented in a release. “That’s why we’re targeting the entire network, from manufacturing devices to overseas components.

“Community security is the foundation of our firearms licensing system. Firearm users must be authorized, weapons are obliged to be registered, and adherence is mandatory.”

Increasing Phenomenon of Privately Made Weapons

Statistics collected for an investigation shows that during the previous five years in excess of 9,000 firearms have been taken illegally, and that this year, authorities conducted confiscations of homemade weapons in almost every administrative division.

Court records indicate that the computer blueprints now created in Australia, driven by an internet group of developers and supporters that promote an “unlimited right to possess firearms”, are more dependable and deadly.

During the last few years the pattern has been from “extremely amateur, minimally functional, practically single-use” to more advanced weapons, authorities reported earlier.

Customs Interceptions and Digital Sales

Parts that are difficult to 3D-printed are commonly ordered from online retailers overseas.

A high-ranking border official stated that over 8,000 unlawful weapons, components and add-ons had been detected at the customs checkpoint in the most recent accounting period.

“Foreign-sourced weapon pieces may be assembled with additional DIY parts, creating hazardous and unregistered guns appearing on our communities,” the officer said.

“A lot of these goods are offered by digital stores, which might cause users to wrongly believe they are unregulated on entry. Numerous of these platforms simply place orders from international acting as an intermediary without any considerations for import regulations.”

Other Recoveries In Multiple Areas

Seizures of items among them a crossbow and flame-thrower were also made in the southeastern state, the western territory, Tasmania and the Northern Territory, where police said they found a number of homemade weapons, as well as a fabrication tool in the remote town of a specific location.