In Friday's Age, there would have been a story about the first legal challenge being mounted against Victoria Police’s sweeping new powers to crack down on gun crime through warrantless searches.

The story, Toby Mitchell's violent past revealed in firearms test case, outlined Victoria Police’s case for issuing a Firearm Prohibition Order against the notorious underworld figure.

VCAT has issued a supression order against The Age Credit:Frank Maiorana

But The Age has been barred from publishing the contents of that story due to a suppression order obtained by police and issued by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

The interim suppression order was issued by VCAT, without hearing The Age's arguments, after a last-minute application by Victoria Police. The Age has not been provided with a copy of the police's application for the suppression order.