Senior prison officer charged after handguns, assault rifles and weapons seized

A senior prison officer has been charged after police found prohibited weapons in his possession, but detectives have no idea how and why he obtained them.

A senior Corrective Services officer has been charged after prohibited weapons were found in his possession. Picture: NSW Police

A senior NSW Corrective Services officer has been charged after police found military-style assault rifles and other prohibited weapons in his possession.

Police spoke with the 33-year-old man at a minimum-security correctional centre near Bathurst on Wednesday before searching a property near Lithgow, where 10 handguns, nine military-style assault rifles, 13 sets of handcuffs, five batons, a ballistic vest, a butterfly knife and knuckle dusters were seized.

A Corrective Services NSW gas launcher, three cans of OC spray and a large quantity of replica firearm ammunition were also taken.

Now detectives are trying to determine how and why the man came to have these items in his possession.

A senior Corrective Services officer has been arrested and charged with 37 offences. Picture: NSW Police

Detectives seized prohibited weapons, including nine military-style assault rifles. Picture: NSW Police

“That’s at the forefront of this investigation,” Detective Acting Superintendent Grant Taylor told reporters on Thursday.

“These style of weapons, whether they are operational or not, are of great concern to us.”

All of the firearms are yet to be fully examined.

Police will allege there are online platforms that individuals “may pursue” to get these types of weapons into Australia.

“There’s no absolute identification of where they have come from … sufficed to say there are many online platforms that people pursue to get firearms of this style,” he said.

The Corrective Services officer was arrested and charged with 37 offences, including 10 counts of possessing unauthorised firearms, 13 counts of possessing prohibited weapons without a permit and eight counts of possessing unauthorised prohibited firearms.

He was refused bail to appear at Lithgow Local Court on Thursday.