There has been a ‘sharp rise’ in the number of 3D printed guns or gun parts seized in the Netherlands, Dutch police said on Tuesday.

Last year police found 14 printed guns or parts plus a number of locations where guns were being printed on a larger scale, and more have been seized this year.

‘These weapons are reaching a new audience,’ national detective squad chief Andy Kraag told broadcaster NOS. ‘These are not people who are part of the criminal circuit, but who want a gun, such as people who subscribe to extremism.’

In February, police arrested a suspected right-wing extremist in a Zeeland village who had a 3D printed semi-automatic weapon and ammunition.

Although possessing any sort of gun without a licence is a criminal offence in the Netherlands, owning or sharing a blue print to make one is not. The law should be up for discussion on this point, the police said in a statement.

So far there are no known cases of 3D weapons being used in the Netherlands.