A Melbourne man became one of the first in the state to be charged under new firearm trafficking laws after a cache of guns and 20,000 rounds of ammunition were seized by police on Wednesday morning.
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Police believe the 48-year-old man, who holds a shooters licence, is the second person charged with trafficking firearms since the Victorian government tightened the legislation in November.
Another man was charged last month with the offence, police said.
The 48-year-old was arrested after Clandestine Laboratory Squad detectives, with help from the new Purana Proactive Illicit Firearms Investigations Team, found 20 unregistered guns at a Tullamarine property on Wednesday.
As well as pistols, sawn-off shot guns, rifles and silencers; more than 200,000 rounds of ammunition was also found at the Brunton Crescent house at 9am.
The 48-year-old faced an out-of-sessions court hearing on Wednesday night and was granted bail to appear at the Melbourne Magistrates Court on February 10.
His firearms licence was also suspended, police said.Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton said Victoria Police was committed to disrupting the supply of unregistered firearms. "We have Purana Task Force working with other Crime Command units as a proactive approach to ensure firearms are not falling into the hands of criminals," he said.
"Identifying links between firearms thefts and organised crime groups will enable investigators to target those groups and disrupt their activities."
The raid on the Tullamarine house was part of an ongoing investigation that police would not disclose.
The government lowered what is defined as a trafficable quantity of guns from 10 to three in November, so anyone caught with three or more unregistered firearms in a year could be prosecuted for trafficking under the changes.
Under the old laws, only two people were charged with selling or acquiring a trafficking guns since 2010, and only eight were charged with possessing a trafficable quantity, according to Crime Statistics Agency figures given to Fairfax Media last year.
The changes, led by Police Minister Wade Noonan, was sparked by police concerns about a proliferation of guns in the black market and after a spate of shootings in Melbourne.
The Purana Proactive Illicit Firearms Investigations Team was set-up in November to investigate where Victoria's illicit firearms were coming from.
