Japanese man jailed for printing 3D guns and publishing the plans on the internet

Yoshitomo Imura, 28, has been sentenced to two years in prison for producing two firearms in 2013

A Japanese man has been sentenced to two years in prison for creating deadly firearms with a three dimensional printer.

Yoshitomo Imura, 28, was found guilty of violating laws that restrict the production of weapons, as well as the possession of dangerous weapons by the Yokohama District Court

The former employee of the Shonan Instiutute of Technology is believed to be the first person to serve jail time for printing 3D guns, which are a growing concern for police around the world.

Imura produced two firearms between September and December 2013. He also released 3D design data for his guns on the internet, which the ruling Judge Koji Inaba described as 'vicious,' reports The Japan News.

He added that he had 'flaunted his skills and knowledge and attempted to make gun controls toothless.'

Imura was arrested in May after police searched his home. They were alerted when he posted blueprints of the weapons online with the accompanying message: 'The right to bear firearms is a basic human right.'

Imura purchased the 3D printer for about ¥60,000 ($636.09) online.

In March 2013, American firearm company Defense Distributed was granted a U.S. federal firearm license to sell and manufacture 3D printed guns.

They soon released the blueprint for their 'liberator', a single-shot gun, which was downloaded 100,000 times in the two two days before the US Department of State demanded they retract the plans.

Since then, the blueprints have flooded the file sharing Darknet , where they are distributed to people with 3D printers and the assembled guns are sold.

Since then, many more gun model plans have been published and distributed across the internet.The weapons are a drastic security concern because they are cannot be picked up by metal detectors.

After a surge in gun violence across Australia, the 7.30 Report discovered in April that sites like Agora were selling lethal weapons on an untraceable network.

In May, NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione addressed the proliferation of the crude firearms, describing them as 'truly undetectedable, truly untraceable, cheap, easy to make'.

A Senate inquiry into gun-related violence in Australia is calling for new laws to tackle 3D printed firearms in Australia.

Seized plastic guns produced by Imura are displayed at a police station in Yokohama in May

Imura produced two firearms between September and December 2013. He also released 3D design data for his guns on the internet, which the ruling Judge Koji Inaba described as 'vicious'

Culled from DAILY MAIL