The US government has ordered blueprints for the world's first 3D printable gun be taken offline.
The announcement comes as reporters from the Mail On Sunday successfully smuggled a copy of the weapon onto a Eurostar train.
The gun, called the 'Liberator', consists of 16 parts, 15 of which can be made with a 3D printer. The final part is a simple everyday nail to use as the firing pin.
It fires a standard .38 round
The creator of the gun, Cody Wilson of Defence Distributed, made the blueprints freely available online which were downloaded over 100,000 times in just two days.
The US State Department have written to Wilson suggesting they may breach arms-control regulations, reports the BBC.
The blueprints have been available on Kim Dotcom's encrypted site Mega but have since been removed as they pose "serious threat to the security of the community".
The designs have appeared on file sharing site Pirate Bay meaning policing them will be exceptionally difficult, if not impossible.
Wilson told the BBC: "Once people heard what happened, Pirate Bay has exploded. I'm sat here watching it now, seeing the downloads go up and up."
The reality of anyone simply being able to download weapons in their own homes with 3D printers that cost under £2000 is already causing lawmakers a headache.
An American senator has already called for legislation to ban the weapons.
Wilson said: “I recognize that this tool might be used to harm people. That’s what it is — it’s a gun. But I don’t think that’s a reason to not put it out there. I think that liberty in the end is a better interest.
"This is about enabling individuals to create their own sovereign space."