LOS ANGELES (AP) — A surge in gun purchases during the COVID-19 pandemic, including those bought by people who are prohibited from having firearms, prompted state law enforcement last year to mount an aggressive push through a unique California program to seize nearly 1,500 weapons.

The California Department of Justice on Wednesday says agents investigated more than 6,600 people in 2021 through the Armed and Prohibited Persons System, known as APPS. The only-in-California registry cross-matches databases to find people who legally purchased weapons but are now banned from ownership.

State and local authorities then can move to seize the weapons under the program, which began in 2006.