The gun was recovered during a raid on a property in West Auckland. Photo / NZ Police
A 3D-printed gun has been found by police after a raid on a West Auckland property, in what is believed to be the first seizure of its kind.
A police spokesperson told the Herald that the gun was recovered at a Te Atatū property on May 29, after a search in relation to a person breaching bail conditions.
The property was a known Head Hunters gang house, Stuff reported.
The plastic firearm has a metal barrel and was seized alongside live ammunition in a home-made magazine.
Markings on the gun reveal it to be a semiautomatic pistol calibre carbine, which is popular around the world because of its ease of construction.
The gun was reportedly designed to allow users to build it without needing a single regulated firearm part, making it accessible to people in countries with restrictive gun laws.
Police said that no charges have been laid but inquiries are ongoing.
As far back as 2013, American anarchist Cody Wilson 3D printed and fired a pistol he dubbed the Liberator.
He then published his blueprints along with those for a range of other guns on his personal website.
Within a few days, the site attracted 100,000 visitors from all over the world.
Since then, the quality of 3D printing has increased while the cost has fallen.
Police in New Zealand have previously said that anyone in possession of a 3D-printed firearm in New Zealand could be prosecuted.
Earlier, Massey University Robotics Professor Johan Potgieter told the Herald it would take a $40,000-range 3D printer to create a working gun. A gun created by a cheaper model would offer one shot at best.
In addition, semiautomatic weapons such as the one recovered in West Auckland are banned under the sweeping gun law changes enacted after the devastating 2019 Christchurch mosque attacks.
The search resumed this morning for a man who fell off a rock into a river.