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Authorities confiscated more than 1,000 guns and gun parts during a operation focusing on the spread of illicit weapons in Australia and its neighbor.

International Effort Results in Detentions and Seizures

A seven-day transnational operation led to in excess of 180 apprehensions, according to customs agents, and the seizure of 281 DIY guns and parts, including units produced using 3D printers.

State-Level Revelations and Detentions

Across the state of NSW, law enforcement located several 3D printers alongside glock-style pistols, ammunition clips and 3D-printed holsters, among other items.

Regional law enforcement stated they apprehended 45 individuals and confiscated 518 firearms and weapon pieces in the course of the effort. Several individuals were accused of crimes among them the manufacture of prohibited guns unlicensed, bringing in prohibited goods and owning a digital blueprint for production of guns – an offense in various jurisdictions.

“Those fabricated pieces may look vibrant, but they are serious items. When put together, they turn into deadly arms – entirely illicit and very risky,” an experienced detective said in a release. “For this purpose we’re focusing on the complete pipeline, from printers to imported parts.

“Community security is the foundation of our weapon control program. Firearm users need to be registered, guns must be documented, and adherence is mandatory.”

Growing Trend of Homemade Firearms

Information obtained as part of an investigation shows that during the previous five years over 9,000 firearms have been taken illegally, and that currently, law enforcement conducted confiscations of homemade weapons in almost every regional jurisdiction.

Judicial files indicate that the digital designs currently produced in Australia, fuelled by an digital network of developers and enthusiasts that advocate for an “absolute freedom to own and carry weapons”, are increasingly reliable and lethal.

In recent few years the trend has been from “highly unskilled, minimally functional, almost a one-shot weapon” to higher-quality weapons, law enforcement said previously.

Border Interceptions and Web-Based Sales

Components that are difficult to additively manufactured are commonly purchased from e-commerce sites overseas.

A senior immigration officer commented that over 8,000 illegal weapons, pieces and attachments had been detected at the frontier in the last financial year.

“Foreign-sourced gun components may be assembled with other homemade parts, forming dangerous and untraceable weapons filtering onto our neighborhoods,” the officer added.

“A lot of these items are offered by online retailers, which might cause users to wrongly believe they are not controlled on import. Many of these websites only arrange transactions from abroad for the customer lacking attention for import regulations.”

Further Seizures In Various Territories

Seizures of objects including a projectile launcher and incendiary device were also made in the southeastern state, the western territory, the island state and the Northern Territory, where police reported they located several privately manufactured guns, along with a additive manufacturing device in the remote town of a specific location.