AUSTRALIA - Sydney-based syndicate had imported up to 220 illegal pistols..

 m.smh.com.au

OFF THE WIRE
Police allege a Sydney-based syndicate had imported up to 220 illegal pistols since late last year.
NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione told a press conference today that "gun crime is in our sights" but he conceded many other such syndicates could be operating in Sydney.
Police confirmed that a Glock pistol seized in January was the only one they had found of the Glock 220 pistols they believe were imported into Sydney in the previous three months.
"This isn't just a border security issue, this is a national security issue," Mr Scipione told reporters in Sydney.
"It is something that we need to understand is a major concern, not only to law enforcement; it should be to every person that lives in this nation because guns coming into our community are nothing short of weapons that are used to kill and maim."
Three people have been charged after Australian and German detectives smashed an international gun smuggling syndicate alleged to have been run, at least in part, from a suburban Sydney post office.
Police raided 11 properties in Sydney yesterday morning, including Sylvania Waters Post Office, in the city's south, eight homes and an import business.
They arrested three men, including a 30-year-old post office licensee, a 21-year-old worker at the import business and a 27-year-old telecommunications technician.
The men were charged with a raft of offences including supplying firearms, aggravated possession of firearms and participating in a criminal group.
All were refused bail and are due to appear at Burwood and Sutherland local courts today.
It is alleged the trio were part of a syndicate importing Glock pistols from Austria via a gun dealership in Remscheid, west Germany, using falsified documents.
Police began an investigation into the operation in February after tracing guns found in Sydney, including a Glock linked to a shooting in Campsie in late January, to a batch made in Austria.
The weapons were traced to the German gun dealership, which is alleged to have imported them to Australia using false consignment data.
Sylvania Waters Post Office is alleged to have been the end destination for the guns before they were distributed to bikie and Middle Eastern gangs across the city.
"We will be alleging these guns were being imported specifically for use by criminals, including outlaw motorcycle gang members and those in Middle Eastern organised crime groups," Mr Scipione said in a statement.
"One firearm has been linked to a south-western Sydney shooting and we are making further inquiries to see if others are similarly linked."
A fourth person, a 28-year-old woman, was also arrested in Sydney and was being questioned last night.
German detectives arrested a man in connection with the investigation after raiding a number of properties in Remscheid yesterday and seizing a number of documents and parcels.
Detectives involved in the Sydney raids also seized a parcel containing 140 Glock magazines, seven firearms, ammunition, drugs and computer equipment.
AAP and Lisa Davies