Crackdown on 3D-printed guns in South Australia

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They’re the deadly weapons favoured by dangerous criminals.

3D-printed guns are cheap and easy to manufacture and they’re circulating in communities.

The South Australian government is coming down hard on anyone trying to make them, announcing some of the toughest penalties in the country.

3D-printed guns are cheap and easy to manufacture and they’re circulating in communities.The South Australian government is coming down hard on anyone trying to make them, announcing some of the toughest penalties in the country.

3D-printed guns are 100 per cent plastic which means they’re untraceable and undetectable.

It’s a dangerous combination and a popular choice with organised crime gangs.

3D-printed guns are already illegal, but the SA government is now targeting the designs used to make them.

Anyone found in possession of blueprints could face 15 years in jail.

“We do not want to see a situation in this country like we do in others around the world, particularly the US and more and more like the UK,” Police Minister Joseph Szakacs said.

“We are very confident we will continue to put community safety first and keep these 3D-printed firearms and more importantly the recipes to make them out of the hands of crooks.”

SAPOL Assistant Commissioner Narelle Kameniar said it’s a “challenging” issue.

3D-printed guns are 100 per cent plastic which means they’re untraceable and undetectable.

“They can be downloaded from the internet, it’s not even the dark web, and that’s what makes this very challenging,” Kameniar said.

There have been 23 incidents where police have seized 3D-printed weapons in the past four years in South Australia, and it’s feared that number will rise as technology improves.

One of the most high profile cases is the 2021 arrest of accused terrorist Artem Vasilyev.

Police say when they raided his Findon home they found three homemade guns including one that looked like one allegedly made by a 3D printer.

The matter is still before the courts.

By criminalising blueprint possession, the government is trying to get ahead of the curve.

Currently only NSW and Tasmania have made progress in this area.