A West Launceston man has been charged with firearms offences after police seized a sawn-off rifle and a privately made gun from his home during a national crackdown on illegal weapons.
Officers from Taskforce Raven searched the home as part of a week of coordinated action by law enforcement agencies across Australia and New Zealand, which ran from October 19 to 25.
Along with the sawn-off .22 calibre rifle and the privately manufactured firearm, police seized a quantity of ammunition.
The 31-year-old man was charged with offences including possessing stolen firearms, possessing a firearm for which a firearms licence may not be issued, failing to take all precautions to keep a firearm safe and shortening a firearm to less than 65cm.
He was also charged with minor drug offences and was bailed to appear in the Launceston Magistrates Court on December 23.
Nationally, police said 603 whole firearms were seized during the week, including 13 in Tasmania.
Victoria recorded the highest number with 115, followed by Western Australia with 114.
Agencies also seized 1,479 firearm parts, accessories and magazines, 61 privately manufactured or 3D-printed firearms, 1,207 privately manufactured or 3D-printed firearm parts and 808 gel blasters or imitation firearms.
Federal agencies taking part included the Australian Federal Police, Australian Border Force and the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission.
Tasmania Police Inspector Troy Morrisby, who chairs the National Illicit Firearms Working Group, said the operation reinforced that illicit firearms remained a significant threat to public safety.
“The rise of privately manufactured firearms and 3D-printed weapons is changing the landscape, providing criminals with alternative pathways to acquire illicit firearms,” he said.
Morrisby said the results showed “the power of multi-agency partnerships, intelligence-led policing and a shared determination to disrupt those who seek to manufacture, traffic and use these weapons to threaten community safety”.
“We believe the results this week send a clear message that those involved will be identified and targeted,” he said.
Anyone with information about illicit firearms is asked to contact police.
