Sir John Swan said yesterday.

Speaking in the House of Assembly, Sir John said the amnesty that ended at midnight on Wednesday "yielded one of the largest caches of weapons ever recovered in such an effort''.

The expiration of the amnesty did not mean efforts to get weapons off the streets had ended, Sir John said.

"Very shortly, the Government will be bringing to Parliament for its consideration a number of amendments to The Firearms Act, 1973,'' which will "provide for stiffer penalties for a wide range of weapons offences such as the importation, trafficking in, or the possession of guns and other offensive weapons,'' he said.

He hoped all MPs would "fully support this initiative to make our streets and our Island safer''.

In all, about 350 weapons were handed in during the amnesty, which lasted nearly a month.

Police officials said the final day of the amnesty was especially busy, with four handguns and a large amount of ammunition among the weapons turned in.

"I want to thank all those who turned in weapons or who provided information on where such weapons could be located,'' the Premier said. "The public response was ...most encouraging.'' Bermuda has seen a sharp increase in shootings and armed robberies involving handguns in recent months.