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AFP and Victoria police in counter-terrorism raids in Melbourne suburbs Melbourne raids: 23-year-old arrested over alleged terrorism funding
(about 1 hour later)
One man has been arrested after Victorian and federal police carried out a series of raids at a number of properties in Melbourne. A 23-year old Melbourne man will be charged with funding a terrorist organisation in Syria after a tip-off from the FBI, police said on Tuesday.
Search warrants were executed as part of a joint operation in the Melbourne suburbs of Flemington, Meadow Heights, Kealba, Broadmeadows and Seabrook, a Victoria police spokesman said. One man was arrested at a property in Seabrook. Neil Gaughan, an Australian federal police assistant commissioner, told a media conference the man provided $12,000 to an American citizen now fighting in the war-torn country.
“This operational activity is not in response to a threat to public safety nor is it related to last week’s incident at Endeavour Hills,” an AFP spokesperson said in a statement on Tuesday morning. The arrest of the man in Seabrook, about 19km south-west of the Melbourne central business district, came during morning raids in five suburbs – Flemington, Meadow Heights, Kealba, Broadmeadows and Seabrook. All related to the alleged financing of a proscribed terrorist organisation.
The police were expected to give more details at a press conference at 11.30am on Tuesday morning. Gaughan said the man would be charged with “intentionally making funds available to a terrorist organisation, knowing that the organisation was a terrorist organisation”. He is expected to appear in court later on Tuesday.
Gaughan said seven search warrants were issued and more than 100 AFP and Victoria police officers were involved in Tuesday’s raids. They followed an eight-month investigation after initial information was provided by the FBI.
“We have gone early today because we were of the view that further funds were about to be transferred,” Gaughan said. “There is no information or intelligence that this man was involved in planning an attack.”
The raids were relatively low key, he said, because there was no danger to the public.
In Seabrook, a neighbour of the arrested man said he was in his mid-20s and worked in his father’s pizza shop.In Seabrook, a neighbour of the arrested man said he was in his mid-20s and worked in his father’s pizza shop.
“He was very friendly. He moved in to the house in December with his wife after getting married,” said Herve Du Euisson-Berrine.“He was very friendly. He moved in to the house in December with his wife after getting married,” said Herve Du Euisson-Berrine.
“I was woken by the sound of police helicopters this morning – it’s usually a very quiet area.” Victoria police deputy commissioner Graham Ashton said the family of Abdul Numan Haider, the 18-year-old shot dead by police last week after stabbing two police officers, had received death threats over the weekend. The raids on Tuesday and last week’s incident were unrelated, he said.
Last week’s incident at Endeavour Hills, in which 18-year-old Abdul Numan Haider was shot and killed after stabbing two police officers, has heightened tensions in the city. “We did get an example where the family, particularly the parents of the young man … received some death threats over the weekend and that was particularly disconcerting to us and very concerning to the family,” said Ashton.
Victoria premier Denis Napthine said that he was briefed on the raids as they began and was told they were part of a “long-running, on-going operation. They are not about a specific threat. There is no immediate concern for public safety”. “This is an innocent family … they are in the process of grieving and they need to be left alone to grieve.”
He told 3AW radio that he was “very concerned” about reports of anti-Islamic abuse, urging people to “more tolerant and more inclusive”. He also said there had been several instances of racially motivated crime and called for tolerance.
He rejected calls from some federal politicians to ban the burqa, a full body covering worn by some Islamic women. More than 800 officers were involved in Australia’s largest counter-terrorism operation on 18 September at homes in Sydney and Melbourne. One man, 22-year-old Omarjan Azari, was charged with preparing to commit a terror attack.
“What people wear, what faith they practice, what football team they follow, they are all decisions for individuals.”
More than 800 officers were involved in Australia’s largest counter-terror operation on 18 September at homes in Sydney and Melbourne, which saw one man, 22-year-old Omarjan Azari, charged with preparing to commit a terror attack.