A 60-YEAR-old Traralgon man is among those caught up in a statewide operation targeting illegal firearms.
The man has been charged with one count of manufacturing a firearm and two counts of being a prohibited person possessing a firearm following the service of a firearm prohibition order which resulted in the seizure of two homemade firearms.
Operation Athena involved officers from the Illicit Firearms Unit, with the help of the Australian Border Force, Crime Command investigators, Divisional Firearms Officers and police from across the state.
The operation resulted in the seizure of 98 firearms and 26 imitation firearms, with 25 people arrested, and 67 charges laid.
Among them was a 48-year-old Swan Hill man who was charged with possession of a traffickable quantity of firearms and multiple counts of possessing unregistered firearms following the seizure of 10 unregistered firearms and a large quantity of ammunition from his address. Police also seized seven registered firearms and served the man with an immediate suspension notice regarding his firearm licence.
A 41-year-old Richmond man was charged in relation to possessing a handgun and imitation firearms following the seizure of a number of items from his residence.
Detective Superintendent Peter Brigham from the Victoria Police State Anti-Gangs Division said police would continue to tackle the issue of illicit firearms from all sides, with a strong focus on enforcement, targeted disruption, and intelligence gathering.
