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Two arrested in Sydney raids linked to alleged plot to attack naval base Two arrested in Sydney raids linked to alleged plot to attack naval base
(about 2 hours later)
Two men are expected to be charged with terrorism offences following raids in the Sydney suburbs of Bankstown and Merrylands as part of Operation Appleby. Two men are expected to be charged with terrorism offences on Wednesday in connection to handwritten notes seized last year allegedly detailing the early stages of a plot, including a possible attack on a government building and a navy base in the city’s east.
New South Wales police deputy commissioner Catherine Burn said the charges were linked to a plot to possibly attack government buildings in Sydney. The Australian federal police headquarters and a navy base in the city’s east were among the alleged targets she named, but declined to give details of the men’s alleged involvement. New South Wales police deputy commissioner Catherine Burn said there was no immediate threat and the possible attack had been disrupted in December 2014 when the documents were seized from a Regents Park home.
One of the men, 20-year-old Mohammad Almaouie from Bankstown, was targeted in raids earlier this month. Five men were charged with conspiring to prepare to commit a terrorist act following the raids. The notes did not detail “a specific act, a specific activity”, but allegedly mentioned locations including the AFP headquarters, NSW police stations and a navy base in Woolloomooloo.
His brother, Jibryl Almaouie, was among those charged earlier this month.
Mohammad is expected to be charged with the same offence, Burn said on Wednesday
Burn said the alleged plot did not relate to “a specific act, a specific activity”.
“What we will be [alleging] is there was a group of people who came together with the idea, with the intent to do something and they started to make preparations to carry out a terrorist act,” she said.“What we will be [alleging] is there was a group of people who came together with the idea, with the intent to do something and they started to make preparations to carry out a terrorist act,” she said.
“We think we disrupted what may have eventuated into something becoming more specific.” “We think we [may have] disrupted what may have eventuated into something becoming more specific.”
The charges relating to Mohammad were based on handwritten documents seized from a Wiley Park home in December 2014 which allegedly mentioned locations including the AFP headquarters, NSW police stations and a navy base in Woolloomooloo. Mohammad Almaouie, 20, and Abdullah Salihy, 24, were the latest to be arrested on Wednesday morning as part of Operation Appleby.
The second man arrested is understood to be a 24-year-old whose home in Merrylands has also been repeatedly raided by police. Almaouie’s Bankstown home had been targeted earlier in December in operations that saw five people, including his brother Jibryl, charged with conspiracy to conduct an act in preparation for a terrorist act. Almaouie is expected to be charged with the same offence, which carries a 25-year maximum jail term.
It is anticipated he will be charged with making a document likely to facilitate a terrorist act, Burn says. Salihy, of Merrylands in western Sydney, is expected to be charged with making a document likely to facilitate a terrorist act.
The A total of 13 people have been charged as part of Operation Appleby, which commenced in May 2014. Several sets of fingerprints were allegedly found on the handwritten notes, which were seized from the home of 21-year-old Sulayman Khalid in December 2014.
Khalid was among those also charged earlier this month with the conspiracy offence, along with Ibrahim Ghazzawy, 20, and Maywand Osman, 22. A 15-year-old from Georges Hall was also charged but cannot be named for legal reasons.
Osman, Khalid and Jibryl Almaouie were already in custody facing other terrorism or firearms offences.
A total of 13 people have been charged as part of Operation Appleby, an ongoing counter-terrorism investigation which commenced in May 2014.