Ten people have been charged and 22 guns seized by police after an alleged armed robbery at a Mulgrave business in November.
Seven were arrested during police raids of homes in Keysborough, Clayton South, Moorabbin, Rowville, Greenvale and Roxburgh Park as well as a storage facility at Mordialloc on Thursday afternoon (18 January).
Armed Crime Squad detectives charged a 29-year-old Clayton South man with almost 40 firearms and drugs offences.
Others arrested included:
– A 30-year-old Clayton South man charged with 25 firearms offences
– A 29-year-old Keysborough man, charged with 30 firearms, drugs and handle stolen goods offences,
– A 31-year-old Rowville man, charged with 11 firearms, drugs and weapons offences,
– A 30-year-old Greenvale man, charged with 11 firearms and drug offences,
– A 28-year-old Moorabbin woman, charged with possess methylamphetamine and possess fireworks. She was bailed to appear at Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court on 13 March, and
– A 30-year-old Rowville man who was issued with a cannabis caution.
The five men were expected to face Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on 19 January.
Police also discovered a military mortar shell buried in Mt Waverley parkland.
The investigation was sparked by two alleged robbers armed with handguns holding up a licensed premises on Dandenong Road in Mulgrave in the early hours of Friday, 3 November.
The two men left the venue with a small quantity of cash and fled in a waiting vehicle, police say.
Over the course of the investigation, police charged three other men with drug and gun offences after earlier raids in Oakleigh South, Clayton South, Highett and Beaumaris.
The items seized by police included:
• 22 firearms,
• Five imitation firearms,
• Firearm parts,
• Ammunition,
• An electronic jammer,
• Explosives,
• Drugs of dependence including liquid GHB, LSD, methylamphetamine, cannabis, and prescription drugs,
• Pepper spray,
• Knuckle dusters,
• 3D printed firearm parts,
• Stolen property including registration plates, and
• A small quantity of cash.
Detective Inspector Mark Hatt, from the Armed Crime Squad, said the arrests were a “clear message to anyone illegally carrying firearms”.
“We will continue to work tirelessly to prevent the access and use of illicit firearms, particularly by groups and criminals involved in serious and organised crime.”
