Firearms heading for the black market have been targeted by police in an operation centred in Bay of Plenty and Gisborne

Three licensed gun holders have been charged, and a firearms dealer's licence suspended after search warrants were carried out at five properties.

Detective Inspector Albie Alexander says the men aged in their twenties and thirties, purchased 50 firearms over a four-month period in 2022.

He says none of guns have been recovered and he believes they are now on the black market.

The men are due to appear in court later this year.