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Law enforcement confiscated more than 1,000 weapons and firearm components during a operation targeting the circulation of illicit weapons in the nation and its neighbor.

Cross-Border Effort Leads to Arrests and Recoveries

The week-long cross-border operation led to over 180 detentions, based on statements from customs agents, and the seizure of 281 homemade weapons and pieces, among them products made by additive manufacturing devices.

State-Level Discoveries and Apprehensions

In New South Wales, law enforcement located numerous additive manufacturing devices together with glock-style pistols, magazines and custom-made holders, in addition to various pieces.

State police reported they apprehended 45 suspects and took possession of 518 guns and weapon pieces in the course of the initiative. Several persons were accused of crimes such as the production of prohibited guns without proper authorization, shipping prohibited goods and possessing a digital blueprint for production of firearms – a violation in various jurisdictions.

“These 3D printed components may look bright, but they are serious items. When put together, they are transformed into dangerous tools – entirely illicit and extremely dangerous,” an experienced detective stated in a release. “For this purpose we’re aiming at the complete pipeline, from manufacturing devices to foreign pieces.

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

Increasing Issue of Homemade Guns

Data collected for an investigation shows that over the past five years more than 9,000 guns have been taken illegally, and that this year, authorities conducted confiscations of privately manufactured guns in almost every regional jurisdiction.

Court records reveal that the computer blueprints currently produced in Australia, powered by an internet group of developers and supporters that support an “absolute freedom to own and carry weapons”, are increasingly reliable and lethal.

During the last three to four years the trend has been from “extremely amateur, minimally functional, almost a one-shot weapon” to more advanced firearms, law enforcement said at the time.

Customs Seizures and Online Purchases

Parts that cannot be reliably additively manufactured are frequently ordered from digital stores abroad.

A high-ranking customs agent said that over 8,000 illegal guns, parts and accessories had been discovered at the customs checkpoint in the last financial year.

“Foreign-sourced weapon pieces are often put together with other homemade parts, forming risky and unmarked weapons appearing on our neighborhoods,” the official said.

“Numerous of these products are offered by e-commerce sites, which could result in people to incorrectly assume they are not controlled on import. Many of these platforms only arrange transactions from abroad on the buyer’s behalf without any considerations for border rules.”

Other Recoveries Throughout Multiple Regions

Seizures of items among them a crossbow and incendiary device were further executed in the southeastern state, the western territory, Tasmania and the the NT, where police said they found a number of privately manufactured weapons, in addition to a 3D printer in the remote town of Nhulunbuy.