There could be more arrests over a brazen daylight heist at a Melbourne gun shop, police say, after nabbing six men and recovering all 37 stolen firearms.
Ahmed Al Hamza, 20 of Docklands, and Adem Hammit, 18 of Chadstone, faced Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday charged with robbery and firearms offences over the afternoon hold-up of O'Reilly's Firearms at Thornbury on January 29.
Their appearance came after heavily-armed officers arrested the pair at a Docklands property on Monday afternoon, where police found all of the allegedly stolen guns.
Another four men arrested in later raids across the city were due to be questioned.
Inquiries could reveal even more suspects linked to the heist, which involved four men wearing balaclavas, one of whom allegedly carried a gun, police said.
The arrested men were all believed to be part of a crime group made up of people of Middle Eastern backgrounds, some of whom were related, Assistant Commissioner Steve Fontana said.
The force was surprised and "very lucky" to have retrieved all the stolen guns, which were likely intended for the black market, the senior officer added.
"We're very happy that we found them all, to be quite honest," Mr Fontana told reporters.
"It was a bit of good investigative work and good decision making by our people."
Neither Al Hamza or Hammit applied for bail in court on Tuesday and were remanded in custody to appear again in May.
Mr Fontana said tighter gun shop security, including how firearms are stored, could prevent similar numbers of guns being stolen in one hit in the future.
Premier Daniel Andrews said last week the government would consider stronger security measures for weapons, but would be guided by police.
The incident was also further proof of the need for tougher Victorian gun laws targeting gang members, bikies and terrorists, Police Minister Lisa Neville said.
"These are exactly the sort of people we will want to give the powers to Victoria Police to put these firearm prohibition orders over," she said.
