Raids on alleged terrorist hot spot
Police swoop in Sydney
A youth terror cell identified in the wake of last week’s Wakeley church stabbing has been targeted in raids across Sydney, after police deemed it posed an “unacceptable risk” to the community.
More than 400 officers from the NSW Police and AFP began conducting the anti-terror raids at 13 homes across the city’s southwestern suburbs from 11am on Wednesday, including in Greenacre and Bankstown.
So far seven youths have been arrested and five people are assisting investigators with their inquiries, with NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Dave Hudson saying they had to carry out the raids because police could not guarantee they would stop any further terror attack.
“It was considered that the group, subject of their attention, posed an unacceptable risk to the people of New South Wales, and our current purely investigative strategies could not adequately ensure public safety,” Deputy Commissioner Hudson said. “As a result, we determined that we needed to escalate our activities and that overt action was required.
“Their behaviour, whilst under that surveillance, led us to believe that, if they were to commit any act, we would not be able to prevent that.
“And we believed, through the investigation, that it was likely that an attack might ensue.
“If you take your minds back to Auckland in New Zealand when surveillance was on an individual who attacked people in a shopping centre, a number of incidents in the UK where individuals released from custody and under surveillance have committed acts of terrorism while under surveillance …
“At our meeting (on Tuesday), we considered that the risk was too great and we needed to interdict today (Wednesday). There’s a crossover on individuals between different groups. But they are all known to each other – some quite closely.”
It is understood the raids are directly targeting possible associates of the 16-year-old boy charged with committing a terror act for his alleged attack on Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel last Monday, April 15.
The group, which largely consists of youths but also includes adults, is expected to be charged with offences relating to violent extremism.
However it is not expected to be alleged that any of them were involved in the carrying out of the alleged Wakeley terror attack. A NSW Police spokesperson confirmed the investigation was being conducted by the Joint Counter Terrorism Team (JCTT).
“The JCTT Sydney is executing search warrants in Sydney ... as part of an ongoing investigation,” the police spokesman said.
Premier Chris Minns confirmed he’d been briefed on the counter-terrorism raids on Tuesday by Police Commissioner Karen Webb but remained tight-lipped on the operations undertaken, saying it was up to NSW and federal police on what details would be shared with the public.