OWNERS of a Wagga gun shop who had their entire stock of firearms seized by police on Thursday are yet to be charged over the raid.
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Police entered the Wagga Boat and Sport Centre on Murray Street at 11am on Thursday and seized more than 500 guns and 25,000 rounds of ammunition during a 14-hour operation.
With each gun needing to be photographed and stored, the sheer number of weapons kept police at the premises until 2am yesterday.
Doubts over the safe storage of the firearms are believed to have prompted the investigation and a 48-year-old Wagga man is assisting police with their inquiries.
Some former customers of the shop yesterday said that staff had told them it could be as long as 12 months before guns could be sold to the public again.
One customer who was forced to look elsewhere for a firearm yesterday was Eurongilly farmer Jason Herbert.
Mr Herbert had a gun on order from the Murray Street business but sought the services of Wagga’s only other gun shop owner, Don Power of Power Ammo on Copland Street.
Mr Power said gun dealers were subjected to strict laws to help ensure public safety.
“We have lots of hoops we have to jump through,” Mr Power said.
“The Firearms Act is thick and intense ... if you don’t keep up with the paperwork in NSW, it’s like putting your head on the chopping block.
“I don’t have a problem with the system. It’s like the road rules: if you don’t like the rules, don’t drive on the road.”