Senegalese troops showed weapons, ammunition and other items at a captured base
This is a representational image AFP / JOHN WESSELS

At least 300 prohibited weapons were seized Friday in police raids across Sydney, following which two men were arrested and charged with multiple offenses.

The weapons, believed to be for sale from businesses in Sydney's Haymarket, were seized as part of an ongoing investigation into an affray on Elizabeth Street earlier this year.

The police executed search warrants at businesses across Hay street, Haymarket, and homes in Amos Street, Westmead, and Shepherd Street, Cherrybrook, Nine News reported.

Among the 300 prohibited weapons found were flick knives, sheath knives, zombie knives, butterfly knives, push daggers, and concealed blades.

The detainees, aged 45 and 60, were refused bail in court. The two men weren't known to each other.

The investigation came after the police busted a group involved in a violent brawl brandishing machetes and axes in Waterloo, an inner suburb of Sydney, in March, according to The Mandurah Mail.

Acting Superintendent Phil Hallinan said at that time that the weapon had links to two businesses in Haymarket. The two shops had been "unlawfully supplying knives to members of the community" he told reporters on Friday.

"We obtained evidence that they, within a 12 month period, supplied weapons without permits," Supt Hallinan said. "I can advise that neither person had a permit to supply those weapons."

One of the stalls had been in operation for a decade in the city's main marketplace, Paddy's Market. "The stall is entitled to supply certain types of knives, the concern with this one is they can't supply prohibited weapons," Hallinan said.

The police in NSW could soon be granted immunity to randomly search people in weapons and transport hubs, shopping centers, and other public places.