57,000 firearms collected in Australian national amnesty

Feb. 28 (UPI) -- More than 57,000 firearms, including a rocket launcher, were collected in Australia's National Firearms Amnesty, the government said.

The final results, released by Australia's Department of Home Affairs Thursday, showed a total of 57,324 firearms were collected during the amnesty conducted between July and September 2017.

About 2,500 fully-automatic or semi-automatic guns, 2,900 handguns and a rocket launcher, believed to have been recovered from a garbage dump, were among the weapons collected.

The government originally estimated 51,000 guns were turned over to the government in the country's first since the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, in which Martin Bryant killed 35 people.

Nearly a third of the weapons were destroyed and the rest were either registered and returned to their owners or given to a licensed dealer for resale.

Law Enforcement Minister Angus Taylor said the gun amnesty helped make the country safer.

"Taking these unregistered firearms off the streets means they will not fall into the hands of criminals, who might use them to endanger the lives of innocent Australians," he said

The government estimated 260,000 unregistered guns remain in the country's "grey market," referring to guns that are not registered and not in the hands of criminals.

Possession of an unregistered firearm can result in a prison sentence of up to 14 years in prison and a fine of up to $280,000.

"It's critical to get them off this grey market ... so they don't end up in the black market," Taylor said.

Australia's government hasn't ruled out the possibility of additional gun amnesties in the future.