Police issue charges after seizing hundreds of guns in sovereign citizen raids

2 days ago 4

Police have revealed a string of charges stemming from a series of raids conducted this week on so-called “sovereign citizens”, following an operation sparked by the shooting deaths of two Victorian officers.

This masthead revealed on Saturday police had conducted raids throughout suburban Perth and regional WA for five days, on people who had expressed sovereign citizen ideologies in line with that of Victorian man Dezi Freeman.

A sovereign citizen believes they are not subject to the law or government authority, and Freeman had previously expressed sovereign citizen beliefs before allegedly shooting two police officers dead in August.

Police said 70 searches were done on properties around WA throughout the week, which resulted in the seizure of 135 firearms and the suspension of more than 40 gun licenses.

Police confirmed on Sunday they had laid a number of charges over the seizures, and many involved breaches of WA’s strict new gun laws.

All up, police have issued charges of failing to store a firearm in a compliant cabinet, three counts of unlawfully possessing ammunition, two counts of possessing prohibited accessory - that is, suppressors - one count of failing to secure ammunition, one count of possessing cannabis and one count of cultivating cannabis.

Police also issued one charge of possessing a controlled weapon - namely, a cross bow.

Officers also revealed out of the 135 firearms seized, 125 were long arm firearms, 10 were handguns and two were suppressor barrels.

The raids have been met with a mixed reaction from the community, with some identifying with sovereign citizen ideologies referring to the seizures as an attempt to “disarm the population”.

Commissioner Blanch said the operation had been sparked by Freeman, who has been on the run in Victoria since August 26 after he shot two officers at his remote property with his wife’s firearms.

Freeman has eluded capture and hundreds of police who have been searching the bushland in Mount Buffalo National Park in Victoria’s north-east. Sympathisers have been warned they could face jail if they harboured Freeman.