Tasmania Police have seized 31 illegal firearms across the state’s north in the last month, leading to charges against 20 people.
Acting Detective Inspector Jason Jones said multiple searches have been carried out by officers in the region as they target operations involving illegal firearms.
Jones said one search led to the recovery of a weapon stolen from Ravenswood in April.
Three people have been charged with 19 offences following the targeted search at Norwood, north of Launceston, with the assistance of specialist police resources.
In July, a 9mm sub-machine gun was seized by police after it was allegedly fired inside a room at a Launceston hotel.
The weapon was found inside a bag along with a double-barrel 12-gauge shotgun after the man accused of the incident attempted to evade officers.
He is facing 15 charges.
Another operation in Deloraine the same month uncovered two firearms and stolen power tools from a home following a business burglary.
The resident is facing nine charges.
“Every illegal firearm in our community is a concern. Of those seized in the last few weeks many of the firearms were stolen,” Jones said.
“Illegal and unregistered firearms are a risk to our communities and we will continue to remove these items from our streets.”
“If you have an illegal or unregistered firearm, there is a permanent amnesty in Tasmania and those firearms can be handed into police or a licensed firearms dealer without consequence.”
