Kuala Lumpur  - Malaysian police have detained a man and his two sons for manufacturing firearms in the eastern state of Sarawak on Borneo, police said Wednesday.

Police launched a raid on their home in a rural village near the border of neighbouring Brunei and discovered an assembly plant making shotguns and pellets, said district police chief Jamaluddin Ibrahim.

"We want to find out what they were doing with the weapons. We have classified the case as possession of firearms," he was quoted as saying by the Star online news portal.

Police seized three shotguns and at least six cartridges and components to make the weapons from the house, the report said.

Jamaluddin said police were investigating the possibility that the trio were part of a syndicate selling the shotguns and shells, adding that the seized weapons were sent for testing.

The 60-year-old suspect and his two sons, aged in their 20s and 30s, were remanded for questioning. (dpa)