Shops with hundreds of deadly weapons allegedly meant for youth gangs raided in Melbourne

Hundreds of deadly weapons allegedly being sold to youth crime gangs have been seized from collectible stores in major raids across Melbourne.

The police raid uncovered samurai swords, imitation handguns, butterfly and zombie knives and knuckle dusters, as well as illegal cigarettes and tobacco, vapes, methylamphetamine, cannabis and prescription medication discovered at collectible stores in Narre Warren, Boronia and Dandenong South.

Police arrested a 52-year-old Cranbourne North man and a 34-year-old man from Narre Warren North over the haul. Both have since been released.

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"Our protection of children, particularly those who are vulnerable within our communities is our priority," Victoria Police Inspector Andrew McKee said.

"Adults that consider preying upon those either for their own greed or criminal activity is something that we're very interested in stopping."

Youth crime is a major issue in the suburbs of Dandenong, Casey and Cardinia.

The issue has increased by more than five per cent in Victoria, with serious and violent crime escalating and 496,589 cases reported in the past year alone.

Operation Alliance has led to 440 youth gang members being arrested a combined 1630 times over the past year.

McKee said the issue was ongoing and police would come down hard on offenders.

Friday's arrests were linked to Operation Alliance.

"We were very swift and unrelenting in closing it down because it is a community safety issue," McKee said.

"If there's others out there undertaking that activity, we're looking and we're coming."

Police have seized security vision from the collectible stores as well as the alleged offenders' phones as they continue to gather further evidence.