Police watching car before modified firearm found hidden inside

Nicholas Marko Tasovac pleaded guilty to firearms offences, including possessing an unregistered handgun, in Wodonga court on Tuesday.

He was charged following an undercover operation, which appeared to have been targeting his friend.

His friend was under surveillance by police when Tasovac came to their attention at the BP petrol station near the Hume Highway at Barnawartha on February 11 this year.

He arrived in a black Mazda utility in the afternoon and swapped cars with his friend as police watched on.

Tasovac left in the man's black Mercedes van, with the other man travelling south in the Mazda.

Officers later intercepted his friend when he returned to Melbourne about 10.35pm and searched the car.

The search found the black gas ball gun inside a concealed compartment, along with a gun magazine.

Specialist police examined the weapon on March 13.

An officer noted the gel blaster had a replacement barrel and was able to fire a real .22 calibre round.

Tasovac was interviewed and said he had found the gun while using a metal detector at Mungabareena.

He said he thought it was a ball bearing type gun and had meant to hand it to police, but had never gotten around to doing so.

The 52-year-old said he had left it inside the black utility.

The court heard the weapon wasn't linked to any criminal activity and Tasovac had no priors.

An officer from the Major Drug Squad charged him over the incident.

Magistrate Peter Dunn said the usual sentence for similar offences would be a prison term.

"You only have to look at some of these gel blasters to realise why they're prohibited," he said.

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"He's very foolish not to go and hand it in to police.

"It is a serious matter sir."

Mr Dunn queried what would have happened to Tasovac had checks showed the weapon was linked to a serious incident.

He fined Tasovac $1500 and placed him on a 12-month undertaking.

Mr Dunn said the outcome was "very much out of the ordinary".

The matter followed a similar incident which returned to court last week.

Wodonga man Shaun Anthony Chapman is accused of turning multiple Nerf guns into working firearms modified to fire real .22 bullets.

He was arrested and charged last month, and applied in court last week to be bailed for mental health treatment.

Bail was granted.

Chapman's matter will return to court in Wangaratta on Tuesday.

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