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Police confiscated more than 1,000 guns and gun parts in a crackdown aimed at the spread of unlawful guns in the nation and its neighbor.

Transnational Effort Results in Detentions and Recoveries

The week-long international effort led to more than 180 arrests, based on statements from immigration authorities, and the seizure of 281 homemade guns and components, among them items made by 3D printers.

Local Discoveries and Detentions

Across the state of NSW, law enforcement located multiple 3D printers alongside pistols of a certain design, cartridge holders and 3D-printed holsters, along with other gear.

State police reported they apprehended 45 suspects and seized 518 firearms and firearm parts in the course of the effort. Several persons were accused of crimes including the creation of illegal weapons unlicensed, shipping banned items and possessing a electronic design for manufacture of guns – an offense in some states.

“Those 3D printed components may look colourful, but they are not toys. After construction, they turn into dangerous tools – totally unlawful and extremely dangerous,” a high-ranking officer commented in a release. “That’s why we’re aiming at the complete pipeline, from manufacturing devices to imported parts.

“Public safety is the foundation of our firearms licensing system. Shooters are required to be licensed, firearms have to be documented, and adherence is absolute.”

Increasing Trend of DIY Weapons

Statistics gathered during an probe reveals that over the past five years more than 9,000 weapons have been taken illegally, and that currently, authorities made seizures of DIY firearms in the majority of regional jurisdiction.

Legal documents show that the computer blueprints being manufactured in Australia, powered by an online community of designers and enthusiasts that advocate for an “unlimited right to keep and bear arms”, are increasingly reliable and deadly.

During the last three to four years the trend has been from “extremely amateur, barely operational, almost a one-shot weapon” to higher-quality guns, law enforcement said previously.

Immigration Seizures and Web-Based Purchases

Pieces that are not easily additively manufactured are frequently purchased from e-commerce sites abroad.

An experienced border official stated that over 8,000 illegal weapons, parts and attachments had been found at the border in the most recent accounting period.

“Foreign-sourced gun components may be assembled with further privately manufactured components, producing hazardous and untraceable firearms filtering onto our streets,” the official said.

“Many of these goods are available for purchase by online retailers, which may lead users to incorrectly assume they are not controlled on entry. A lot of these websites simply place orders from international on the buyer’s behalf lacking attention for border rules.”

Other Confiscations Across Multiple Regions

Recoveries of items such as a crossbow and flame-thrower were also made in Victoria, the western territory, Tasmania and the Northern Territory, where law enforcement stated they found a number of DIY weapons, along with a additive manufacturing device in the remote town of Nhulunbuy.