The emergence of ghost guns—often assembled from 3D-printed parts devoid of serial numbers—poses a serious threat to public safety worldwide.
These untraceable firearms, easily manufactured from DIY kits or parts available online, raise alarming concerns as technology continues to advance, outpacing regulatory frameworks meant to curtail misuse.
Even though these weapons are plastic and tend to have short working lives, they are good enough to provide criminals with anonymity and untraceability because they have no serial numbers and are easy to destroy. This further complicates the linking of a recovered weapon to a specific individual or incident.
As criminals increasingly exploit technology, governments are left scrambling to draft appropriate regulations to ensure public safety.
Countries struggling with 3D guns
The United States holds the dubious distinction of being at the forefront of ghost gun production, with the first 3D firearm emerging in 2013 under the aegis of Defence Distributed. The country is still battling with regulations regarding the firearms due to its relaxed firearms laws.
Recent statistics indicate a troubling trend, with this nation recording the highest absolute number of arrests linked to 3D-printed firearms. A prime example is the high-profile murder case involving United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December 2024, which was associated with the use of one such weapon.
A May 2025 report by Rueben Dass highlights a similar concern in the United Kingdom, which recorded its own barrage of incidents involving attempts to manufacture or acquire these guns, followed closely by countries such as Canada, Australia, Germany, and several other European nations.
As cases of ghost gun creation proliferate, these nations and others across the world have scrambled to ban these weapons altogether.
3D Guns in South Africa
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THE GROWING THREAT OF GHOST GUNS
Crisis in South Africa: The Untraceable Weapon Epidemic
1. WHAT ARE GHOST GUNS?
These are **homemade firearms**—often assembled from readily available parts or **3D-printed** components—that entirely **lack serial numbers**. They exploit regulatory gaps, allowing anyone to bypass mandatory background checks required by the Firearms Control Act (FCA).
2. WHY IT MATTERS
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Crime Proliferation: Ghost guns are increasingly recovered at violent crime scenes, particularly linked to organized crime and gang conflicts. -
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Law Enforcement Blind Spot: Without serial numbers, investigators hit a dead end, severely hindering efforts to track trafficking networks and manufacturers.
3. SCALE OF THE PROBLEM: SA HOTSPOTS
WC
GP
KZN
Targeted Hotspot Provinces:
GP: Gauteng Province
KZN: KwaZulu-Natal
Shaded provinces indicate regions with the highest prevalence of firearm-related organized crime.
0%
Traceability Success Rate on Recovered Ghost Guns
IMPACT ON COMMUNITIES
The presence of untraceable weapons fuels **organized violence** and **instability**. Ghost guns arm criminals who have historically been unable to legally obtain firearms, directly increasing the risk of high-casualty incidents in South African neighborhoods.
4. CALL TO ACTION
REGULATE
Close loopholes on parts kits and 3D-printed components to require serialization.
COOPERATE
Strengthen intelligence sharing between SAPS, forensic teams, and community safety groups.
EDUCATE
Increase public awareness about the dangers and how to report illegal firearms activity.
In South Africa, the Firearms Control Act, stipulates that a person could go to jail for 25 years if they manufacture any gun or ammunition without a manufacturer’s licence, or up to 15 years if you alter a gun without a gunsmith’s licence.
Speaking to , Gun Free South Africa researcher, Claire Taylor said currently, 3D printed firearms are not a significant problem in the country compared to international countries.
Taylor said an immediate concern in South Africa are blank fire guns, which are being used extensively in contact crimes like robberies and hijackings, particularly in the Western Cape.
“These realistic replicas can be illegally modified to fire live ammunition, turning them into lethal weapons,” she said.
Taylor added that South Africa is already struggling to manage conventional firearms, and to effectively tackle the firearm crisis, she advocates for a comprehensive strategy encompassing two key actions.
– Targeted gun recovery: “We need intelligence-led operations to recover illegal firearms and trace their sources, not ineffective stop-and-search operations like Operation Shanela. Recovery efforts must be strategic and evidence based.”
– Stop the source: Most illegal guns don’t come from smuggling—they’re licensed guns that leak from civilians and the police. “This means tightening controls over licensed weapon stocks by fixing the broken Central Firearms Registry so that every gun and gun owner is accurately tracked and accounted for.”
“It also means fully enforcing the Firearms Control Act and making amendments to close loopholes that are being exploited to accumulate guns and ammunition—such as the dedicated sport shooter provision that allows unlimited firearms without restriction as well as prohibiting blank fire guns.”
Despite the South African Police Service (SAPS) approaching the International Trade Commission in June 2025 to impose immediate controls on their import, there’s been no further development regarding the matter.
“However, this doesn’t mean we should be complacent about 3D printed guns. The technology is advancing rapidly, digital blueprints are freely available online, and 3D printers are becoming more accessible and affordable.
“What makes these weapons particularly dangerous is that they’re untraceable—they have no serial numbers—making it impossible for law enforcement to link them to crimes or track their origins,” she said.
Ballistic Expert
Nhlanhla Zincume, a private ballistic expert based in KwaZulu-Natal, acknowledged that although 3D guns have not yet gained traction in South Africa, it is only a matter of time before their use could escalate.
“They might be popular now; however, the reality of 3D guns can arise any day. Maybe criminals haven’t thought about using them or they have already done it, but it hasn’t been identified yet because they don’t serial numbers,” he said.
Zincume emphasised the importance of training experts to recognise the nuanced behavioural characteristics of 3D guns compared to conventional firearms.
“These guns are not the same, they come in different forms, some parts are not completely plastic. We need to do our own research so that we can understand all the dynamics which accompany this type of guns so that investigations are not compromised.”
He further added that the process of examining 3D-printed plastic guns presents a difficulty because the act of firing a bullet gradually burns the barrel, thereby completely altering the markings.
“That’s the disadvantage, because if the gun is completely plastic, it will change the marks. You can shoot 10 people and get different marks as the plastic burns. In this case, ours is to know which material was used for the whole component of the gun to conduct the investigation.”
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“The threat is real, and analysts must be equipped to identify these weapons effectively.”
“What is common is that guns produced from the same machine produce the same marks, but the difference with company produced guns is that they are distributed internationally to avoid being linked. With a 3D gun its different, a same printing machine can produce seven guns and be used by the same gang members. The threat is the analyst not being able to identify the multiple guns produced by the same printing machine.
“An analyst with knowledge must be able to determine different guns printed from the same machine because if not, an innocent person can be implicated in crimes they haven’t committed,” he said.
Zincume encouraged ongoing research into 3D technologies, as the complexities of identifying these weapons pose significant challenges in crime scene investigations.
