Police are worried that 27 historical guns could be made operational after they were stolen from Lithgow Small Arms Factory Museum in New South Wales on August 25.

Three individuals dressed in black and wearing balaclavas broke into the museum at around 3am and fled in a silver Toyota Landcruiser, which was later found burnt out in Bathurst later that morning.

Drug and Firearms Squad commander Detective Superintendent John Watson said in a statement today that he was concerned the guns could be used by criminals and spread across New South Wales.

“We are especially concerned about these firearms being in the hands of criminals in Nowra, Lithgow and all the communities between,” he said.

Detectives attached to State Crime Command’s Drug and Firearms Squad established Strike Force Ajo in order to investigate the incident. Watson said stolen firearms are a common currency within organised crime networks.

“We are asking the community to help us find these firearms and identify those involved in their theft,” he said.

The weapons are valued at over $200,000 and include handguns used in WWI and WWII, like the P-38 Walther Luxus, a handgun commonly used by the Nazis. The secretary of the museum Kerry Guerrin told the ABC that the stolen weapons were “irreplacable” with some being almost 150 years old.

“We are completely gutted and devastated,” he told the ABC.

“The thing you can’t get over is someone would do that to a museum that is there for the public.”

Police are appealing to those with any information about the incident to contact Crime Stoppers.

Photo: NSW Police Force DOG Squad Falcon R6 by Highway Patrol Images is available HERE and is used under a Creative Commons License. This image has not been modified.