Meat-grinder plot by ‘terrorists’
An alleged terrorist cell busted for an elaborate plot to blow up an international flight in Australia planned to smuggle a bomb aboard inside kitchen equipment — possibly a sausage maker, according to new reports.
Cops believe the two sets of Lebanese-Australian fathers and sons schemed to stuff explosive material inside the culinary gear, then take it on a flight from Sydney to the Middle East, the Daily Telegraph reported.
Police seized a meat grinder — along with a sausage-making attach- ment — in a series of dramatic raids across five homes on Saturday.
They also found bombmaking materials “ready to go,” and took handwritten notes, two phones, an iPad, two cellphone SIM cards and car registration and insurance paperwork, the Telegraph reported.
It’s also possible the men intended to make mincemeat out of the plane’s passengers with toxic fumes. Several sources told The Australian that the device would have emitted a sulphur-based gas.
Police arrested Khaled Merhi, Abdul Merhi, Khaled Khayat and Mahmoud Khayat in the nighttime raids.
They have not been charged yet, but a court on Sunday granted police permission to hold and interrogate the men for up to a week, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
Authorities do not think the men were capable of constructing the bomb on their own, and say they were likely guided directly by ISIS militants, according to The Australian.