Two Melton men have been charged with nine separate offences each after police busted an alleged firearm manufacturing ring on Friday, July 12.
More than a dozen handguns, as well as firearm parts and ammunition, were seized at about 8.30am following a search warrant at O’Neills Road, Melton.
Homemade guns, blueprints, a 3D printer and an electrical bypass were also found.
A 33-year-old man was charged with two counts of possessing a trafficable quantity of unregistered firearms, two counts of manufacturing a handgun without a license, as well as two counts of possessing firearm parts and equipment to manufacture a handgun and two counts of possessing ammunition without a license.
He was also charged with possessing an explosive substance, possessing a substance, equipment, or material for trafficking, and failure to provide information that is reasonably necessary to access data held in a computer device.
A 41-year-old man was charged with trafficking a commercial quantity of prescription drugs and theft alongside singular counts of the same offences as the 33-year-old man.
Both men will appear before the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on November 6.
A 30 year old woman was also arrested but was released pending further inquiries.
Melton Acting Inspector Scott Williams said police would continue to crack down on illegal weapons to improve community safety.
“We… removed more than a dozen illicit firearms from the streets,” he said.
“Illicit firearms have absolutely no place in our community and we are committed to removing them from the wrong hands.”
