Police crime adviser for the south-west, Acting Senior Sergeant Leigh Wheatley, said gun crime was of particular concern in rural areas.

He said gun thieves did not have possession of firearms for any legal purpose.

"In this case there were six rifles stolen which were properly secured in a gun safe," Acting Senior Sergeant Wheatley said.

"The victims are a family of slaughtermen and they require firearms for their livelihood.

"This family has done nothing wrong and their rifles were stored in an appropriate manner."

Acting Senior Sergeant Wheatley said all gun owners were responsible for the storage of their firearms, keys and ammunition.

"There are heavy penalties for those who do not fulfil those responsibility," he said.

"The theft of firearms in the south-west has been an ongoing priority issue for more than a decade.

"For any gun owner with any questions about their responsibilities, the district firearm officer at the Warrnambool police station is available to provide information and advice."

The six rifles stolen included a .22 calibre rimfire rifle, a 32-20 Winchester rifle, two magnums rifles and two .303 rifles.

Police across Victoria seized more than 770 firearms last year.

Firearms are often used as currency to obtain illicit drugs, with rural properties targeted for the theft of guns to be exchanged.

Serious and organised crime groups causing harm to the community through the manufacture, trafficking and use of illicit firearms will now find themselves under increased targeted scrutiny with the launch of the state's Illicit Firearms Unit (IFU).

Illicit firearms remain a significant enabler of crime across the state, with the use of illicit firearms featuring strongly in a range of offences including homicides, non-fatal shootings, drug manufacture and trafficking, armed robberies, aggravated burglaries, car jackings, extortion and family violence.

The IFU will focus on proactively deterring and disrupting firearms-related crime through a range of operations and activities, as well as targeting and disrupting a range of groups such as Outlaw Motor Cycle Gangs and Middle Eastern Organised Crime groups who are strongly involved in the trafficking and use of illicit weapons.

The seizure of illicit firearms and removal of their potential to cause further harm in the community is also key for the new team.

In 2020, there were nine fatal shootings and 41 non-fatal shootings resulting in injury.

The IFU will be uniquely positioned to use information and intelligence obtained from a range of incidents and investigations to focus on the illicit firearms aspect and follow up the relevant avenues of enquiry.

This includes forensic tracing in order to link the illicit firearms to any related criminal activity across Victoria and nationally.

Illicit firearms can enter the Victorian community in a variety of ways, including international importation, cross-border trafficking, corrupt or inadequately managed sales by licensed dealers, burglaries and local manufacture.

The IFU has already been involved in a number of investigations, resulting in the seizure of over 80 firearms.

In early November, detectives from the IFU seized 36 real and imitation firearms, including a number of gel ball blasters, following a warrant in Frankston.

They also located ammunition, other weapons including a conducted energy device, and a quantity of drugs.

A Frankston man was subsequently charged with a range of firearm offences.

The IFU will expand on the work of previous firearms teams within Crime Command to provide specialist investigative response and intelligence gathering, as well as assisting with the targeted service and enforcement of Firearm Prohibition Orders across the state.

They officially commenced in September 2020 and are comprised of a number of specialist detectives, led by Detective Inspector Mick Daly, as well as several intelligence analysts.

The IFU will also work in close collaboration with other law enforcement agencies and other key stakeholders in the area of firearms licensing, regulation and legislation.

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