A random police inspection has resulted in the seizure of 40 guns including an allegedly stolen rifle and 250kg of ammunition from a property on a city's outskirts.
The police operation on Friday in Norwood, just outside of Launceston in Tasmania, uncovered four registered firearms stored unlawfully in a car in the backyard and ammunition stored insecurely throughout a garage.
A further search of the property uncovered eight incorrectly stored unregistered guns, police say.
A stripped bolt action rifle, believed to have been stolen in 2015 from a house in a rural area northeast of Launceston, as well as a silencer and insecure firearms parts were also found.
A 78-year-old Norwood man has since been served with a licence suspension notice and is facing a range of charges, with a total of 40 guns seized.
The charges include possessing a stolen firearm, possessing unregistered firearms, possessing a silencer and failing to comply with prescribed storage of firearms and ammunition.
"Every unsecured or illegally held firearm represents a potential threat to community safety," Tasmania Police said in a statement.
Anyone with concerns about illegal firearms or unsafe storage practices were urged to police.
