Fears guns are being fed to underworld as theft skyrockets

More stolen firearms are on our streets and are used by criminals to threaten, intimidate and harm. See how they are getting to the underworld.

Nearly 60 guns are being stolen a week across Australia — many of them being directly funnelled into the underworld.

Disturbing figures show firearms theft has almost doubled in a decade, prompting calls for wide-ranging reforms.

Collectively, almost 30,000 guns were reported stolen between 2007 and 2017, according to lobby group Gun Control Australia.

And, during the same period, the number of murders using stolen firearms was about 39 every year.

AFP spokesperson Alex Caruana says an “alarming number” of guns are stolen. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Gary Ramage

The rise coincided with a significant rise in gun ownership, with more than 3.5 million firearms now registered in Australia.

“An alarming number of firearms have been stolen from legal gun owners across Australia and will likely never be recovered. These firearms are being used to commit crime across Australia,” Australian Federal Police Association President Alex Caruana said.

“Gun theft is one of the main sources for guns being subsumed into the illicit gun market,” he said.

Five were charged and 39 guns seized in a NSW investigation last year. Picture: Police NSW

In 2007, 1740 guns were stolen around the country with the most taken from owners in Queensland (353). By 2017 the number of guns stolen had jumped to 3282 and the most came from NSW (761).

But Mr Caruana believes the number of guns reported as stolen is only a fraction of the actual number.

He said legitimate owners are likely to be reluctant to report firearms as missing, making the numbers under-reported.

It was revealed last year during an inquest by Victorian State Coroner, John Cain into the shooting murder of mother of three, Marilyn June Burdon, that police don’t know the whereabouts of 101,821 firearms. They are on a list as either stolen or missing or possibly destroyed.

Grandmother Marilyn Burdon, 70, was shot dead by her partner in 2017. Picture: Supplied

Gun Control Australia spokesperson, Tim Quinn, said we “know that stolen firearms are on our streets and are used by criminals to threaten, intimidate and harm.”

Mr Quinn said the lack of national data about stolen firearms means “we are flying blind on a critical public safety issue.”

“We call on both major parties to commit to restoring funding for the Australian Institute of Criminology to report on trends in firearm-related crimes, including firearms thefts.”

Mr Caruana said the Association is also calling for tighter gun reform as an election issue, including the introduction of the national firearms registry, agreed to after the Port Arthur massacre but never implemented.

Charles Bisucci was prohibited from owning guns, but had a secret stash. Picture: Supplied

Mr Caruana said they are not targeting legal gun ownership, but asking for reform including stopping people being able to purchase ammunition for weapons they don’t own, and to stop the import of ammunition for weapons that are illegal.

“The lack of consistent reporting frameworks makes it easier for criminals to access dangerous weapons,” said Alex Caruana.

“There are no limits to the number of firearms an individual can own. As a result, firearms are proliferating in urban areas across the country, posing a significant public safety risk when these guns are stolen and used by criminals.”

Most guns are stolen from Qld, Vic and NSW.

Marilyn Burdon's children leave the Coroner's Court of Victoria. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Geraghty

Last year in NSW detectives charged five people and seized 39 guns that were allegedly stolen during a series of break and enters across the state’s western region.

In Victoria, a large stash of powerful guns were stolen last year while in transit.

A pallet loaded with the firearms vanished while being held in Melbourne’s south east.