Illawarra residents have handed in almost 200 firearms, firearm-related items, and prohibited weapons as part of a state-wide amnesty.
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They were among nearly 10,000 items handed in state-wide as part of the three-month National Firearms Amnesty, which concluded September 30.
There were 602 handguns and 1575 shotguns surrendered, 13,729 firearms handed in for registration and 2101 firearms acquired by dealers.
Nine of the 10 top ten local area commands for surrenders were in areas outside of metropolitan Sydney.
Oxley Local Area Command received the most (1322 items) after a single person handed in 987 firearm barrels.
In Wollongong and Lake Illawarra there were 108 and 88 items surrendered, respectively.
In the Shoalhaven and Far South Coast, numbers rose to 247 and 242, respectively.
NSW Police Force Deputy Commissioner Regional Field Operations, Gary Worboys, says the response from the community had been overwhelming, especially in regional areas.
“It’s extremely encouraging to see community members recognising the danger posed by these weapons and doing the right thing by handing them in or having them registered,” Deputy Commissioner Worboys said.
Surrendered items of interest include 20 SKS assault rifles, eight M1 carbine military self-loading rifles, four sub-machine guns, a Colt AR-15 rifle, a .44 calibre magnum revolver, an Adler 110 shotgun, and a Mauser model 1918 T-Gewehr-Bolt Action anti-tank rifle.