At Least 800 Officers from AFP and NSW Police Were Involved in Anti-Terror Raids on Thursday...
-Was This the Lethal Sword Terror Cell Planned to Use to Behead an Innocent Victim on a Sydney Street?
- 25 search warrants and 15 arrests were carried out in Sydney
- Omarjan Azari, 22, has been charged with a serious terrorism related offence
- Azari was denied bail and will reappear in court on November 13
- Another man, 24, has been charged with weapons offences
- Two females were issued Future Court Attendance Notices
- Homes were searched in Sydney's northwest suburbs
- Raids also took place in three Brisbane suburbs related to last week's raids in a Logan Islamic bookstore
- Police sources say they had to act now
Daily Mail, Australia
A 22-year-old Sydney man arrested in the nation's largest counter-terrorism operation allegedly conspired with Australia's most senior Islamist militant to launch a deadly attack on a random passerby, court documents show.
Early on Thursday morning hundreds of police swooped on a number of properties in Sydney and Brisbane conducting raids as part of and anti-terror operation.
Around 12 homes were searched in Sydney’s northwest suburbs by NSW Police and Australian Federal Police (AFP).
Police executed search warrants in Beecroft, Bellavista, Guildford, Merrylands, Northmead, Wentworthville, Marsfield, Westmead, Castle Hill, Revesby, Bass Hill and Regents Park.
The AFP also carried out three search warrants in Brisbane in the suburbs of Mount Gravatt East, Logan and Underwood.
The Queensland raids were not directly related to the operations in Sydney.
Bundles of cash and a curved sword inscribed with black foreign lettering were some of the incriminating pieces of evidence removed from a Sydney home during Thursday's terror raids.
Omarjan Azari appeared in Sydney's Central Local Court charged with conspiracy to prepare a terrorist attack on Australian soil
According to court documents, police intercepted a phone call two days ago between Omarjan Azari, who was arrested on Thursday morning, and Mohammad Ali Baryalei - who is alleged to have recruited half of the 60 Australians fighting in the Middle East.
The account said Baryalei ordered him to carry out an attack which Sydney Central Local Court heard was 'clearly designed to shock, horror and terrify the community'.
Before it emerged this month that Baryalei had become a senior Islamic State militant, he worked as a bouncer in Sydney’s Kings Cross nightclub district and had also played a bit part in the TV series Underbelly.
Azari today appeared in court charged with a conspiracy to prepare a terrorist attack on Australian soil. He is the only man charged so far after police arrested 15 people in raids earlier today.
A second man, a 24-year-old from Merrylands in Sydney's west, was charged with possessing ammunition without license and unauthorised possession of a prohibited weapon.
He has been bailed to appear in Fairfield Local Court on September 24th.
Nine people were detained on Thursday, and two females were issued Future Court Attendance Notices.
Police Prosecutor Michael Allnutt told Central Local Court that Azari had made a threat during a phone call a few days ago which involved a 'random selection of persons to execute'.
A large sword was seized as part of the evidence found at a home in the suburb of Marsfield, in Sydney
The accused terrorist was taken from court in a high risk security orange prison jumpsuit by heavily armed NSW Corrective Services officer
Australian Federal Police conduct terror raids across Sydney:
Azari, who has dark hair, a beard and moustache, had displayed 'an unusual level of fanaticism' in the call, which was intercepted by police.
Azari's lawyer Steve Boland did not apply for bail but asked Magistrate Richard Bailey if Azari could go back down to the dock during the hearing.Magistrate Bailey agreed and Azari, who had sat in the dock stroking his beard and smiled briefly while talking to Mr Boland, left the courtroom.
The hearing adjourned shortly afterward, and Mr Azari is due reappear in court via video link from prison on November 13.
The accused terrorist was taken from court in a high risk security orange prison jumpsuit by heavily armed NSW Corrective Services officers.
Officers with shotguns drove Azari - who put his head down between his handcuffs in the back seat of an armoured vehicle - from Central Local Court where the Sydney man made a brief appearance.
As a person accused of conspiracy to prepare for a terrorist act, Azari will be taken to a maximum security prison, most likely the High Risk Management Correctional Centre - also known as Supermax - inside Goulburn prison.
Police intercepted a phone call between the arrested Omarjan Azari and Mohammad Ali Baryalei (pictured) who worked as a bouncer at a Kings Cross nightclub and played a bit part in an episode of Underbelly
Mohammad Ali Baryalei (pictured) played a bit part in the popular Underbelly TV program
An armed police officer escorted Azari from court into a waiting prison van
Heavily armed police have made a number of arrests in a series of dawn raids in northwest Sydney
A car was searched across the road from the house that Omarjan Azari was arrested at
across Sydney's northwest, as well as a series of raids in three suburbs in Brisbane. Officers said of the raids that: 'Police believe that this group that we have executed this operation on today had the intention, and had started to carry out planning, to commit violent acts here in Australia,' AFP Acting Commissioner Andrew Colvin told reporters in Sydney.
'Those violent acts particularly related to random acts against members of the public.'
Police sources revealed more details to Daily Mail Australia, that the plot involved abducting a member of the public in Sydney and beheading them. ABC reported that the abducted member of the public would be draped in an Islamic State flag and beheaded on camera.
Reports say that the random beheading would have been carried out in the streets of Martin Place in Sydney's CBD.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott confirmed that he was briefed on the anti-terror operation on Wednesday night.
He said a senior Australian
ISIL member has asked supporters in Australia to carry out 'demonstration killings'.
'That's the intelligence we've received. That exhortations, quite direct exhortations, were coming from an Australian who is apparently quite senior in ISIL to networks of supporters in Australia to direct demonstration killings in Australia. This is not just suspicion this is in intent,' Mr Abbott said.
Police executed search warrants in what is thought to be Australia's largest ever counter-terror operation
Mr Abbott said the information he has received shows Australia is at a 'serious risk' from a terrorist attack.
'There are networks of people here in Australia who will do us harm and it's very important that we are one step ahead of them and I think this morning we were,' he added.
A similar attack occurred on British Army soldier, Lee Rigby, in May 2013. Quoting Canberra sources, the Nine Network reported an attack was imminent.
AFP Commissioner Colvin said: 'It is the largest operation of its type undertaken in Australia's history.'
AFP Acting Commissioner Andrew Colvin and NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione appeared in a joint press conference on Thursday
One Sydney man (TOP) involved in the raids was reportedly taken to hospital with injuries he claims he received from police.
On 22 May, a British Army soldier, Fusilier Drummer Lee Rigby (above), was nearly beheaded by exteremists Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale in Woolwich, southeast London
Police Commissioner: This operation reflects the reality we face
Police revealed officers had to use force to detain three people. One Sydney man involved in the raids was reportedly taken to hospital with injuries he claims he received from police.
A photo of the man, obtained by the ABC, shows bruising around his eye.
Some members of Sydney's Muslim community staged a protest on Thursday night in response to the dawn-raids.
A Facebook event group called 'STOP TERRORISING MUSLIMS!' claims that brutality was used by the police during the raids.
Front and back yards were dug up at a Guildford home after it was raided
Forensic teams appeared to leave no stone unturned at the Guildford home
A policeman was seen shovelling mud outside of the house on Thursday afternoon
The arrests in Sydney follow months of surveillance of people linked to the terrorist group Islamic State, which has been cutting a barbaric path through Iraq and Syria.
AFP Acting Commissioner Andrew Colvin said: 'The operation commenced earlier this year and the police believe that they had the intention and had started to carry out planning the attack here in Australia particularly related to random acts to members of the public.'
It's believed those arrested in Sydney could have links to a Brisbane man now facing terrorism related charges.
In Queensland police were seen searching a house in Mount Gravatt, Brisbane
The raids at the Brisbane homes on Thursday are said to be linked to a series of raids that were carried out last week in the city
Father denies son is a terrorist after their house was raided:
The search warrants carried out in Queensland are a follow up to the previous terror investigation in Queensland last week.
'We are investigating links between the two investigations in Sydney today and Queensland last week, it's too early to speculate about what those linkages are,' Mr Colvin said.
NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione told reporters Sydney residents will see large numbers of police in public places in the coming days.
'There will be 220 police very visible dealing with any troublemakers,' Mr Scipione said, in what is known as Operation Hammerhead.
Queensland Police Commissioner Ian Stewart confirmed that the raids in three properties in Brisbane today were linked to the arrests last week of two men charged with preparing for incursions into Syria with the intention of engaging in hostile activities.
However, he said no arrests were made on Thursday in his state.
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OPERATION APPLEBY: THE FACTS
On Thursday 18 September a series of pre-dawn raids were carried out in what has been declared as Australia's largest ever counter-terrorism operation.
In Sydney:
- 25 search warrants were executed
- 10 warrants were undertaken in relation to vehicles
- 800 NSW police and AFP officers were involved
- 15 people were arrested
- One man has been charged so far with serious terrorism related offences
- Homes were searched in at least 12 suburbs in the city's north-west including Beecroft, Bella Vista, Guildford, Merrylands, Northmead, Wentworthville, Marsfield, Westmead, Castle Hill, Revesby, Bass Hill and Regents Park
In Brisbane:
- A series of raids related to last week's raids in Brisbane were carried out
- Police are investigating links to the Sydney terror suspects
- 60 officers were involved in the raids
- No arrests were made
- Last week two men were arrested in Brisbane and appeared in court charged with terrorism-related offences
- Homes in the Brisbane suburbs of Mount Gravatt East, Logan and Underwood were raided as part of the coordinated operation on Thursday
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More than 15 locations in Australia were the subject of terror raids
Commissioner Stewart said: 'Since that time we have come across disturbing information about another person.'
Omar Succarieh, 31, who is the brother of Australia's first suicide bomber to die in Syria, was arrested along with a 21-year-old man after a raid on iQraa Islamic Centre in Logan.
Seven homes and a gym in the area near Underwood were also raided last week.
Queensland's Premier Campbell Newman said that it is alleged 'at least one individual was contemplating onshore terrorist action'.
The Queensland police deployed 60 officers to Thursday's raids and their investigation is ongoing.
Commissioner Stewart said there were direct links between the raids in Queensland and the raids in Sydney.
Around 12 homes were searched in Sydney’s northwest suburbs
Authorities raided a string of homes and made several arrests
'It is of serious concern that in the heart of our community there have been plans to conduct a random attack. We know there were plans on foot and we have been able to disrupt that.
'Our police will continue to work tirelessly to prevent any such attacks but I stress this is a time for calm.
'We want people to continue to enjoy the freedoms that make our country such a wonderful and harmonious country,' Commissioner Scipione said
Earlier in the day, Commissioner Scipione told the Today Show: 'This has been a big operation and it reflects what we are dealing with right now. We've committed a lot of staff to the work today and I'm incredibly proud of what we've done already.'
Scott Morrison, the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, said the scale of the operation 'demonstrates the very real threat' of an attack.
A woman arrives back at a house in Mt Gravatt where police had carried out a search
NSW Police and Australian Federal Police officers raid a house in Bursill Street, Guildford
Scott Morrison, the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, said the scale of the operation 'demonstrates the very real threat' of an attack
Police interviewed suspects inside their homes and also took photos
Federal police raid house in Sydney suburb of Guildford:
Mr Morrison told ABC's AM program on Thursday morning: 'I think the scale of what we're seeing in this ongoing operation this morning, over 600 police officers involved, I think demonstrates the very real threat that's there.
'And the incredibly good work which is being done by our agencies, and I think again supports why the Government has been so strong in its response to this threat.'
Coalition frontbencher Malcolm Turnbull told ABC radio: 'There is no cause for being complacent about security.
'There are people, regrettably some of them in our midst, that don’t have the nation’s best interest at heart.'
A witness named Chris, from Bass Hill, told Triple M's Grill Team breakfast show that the scene outside his home was ‘surreal’.
A man was taken away in handcuffs from a property in Marsfield
Police swooped on the houses before sunrise in Sydney and Brisbane
Police sources say they had to act now and the operation is ongoing
'I was woken up about 4 o'clock by a helicopter going over head. And at 5am the dog started barking.And I had a look outside and there would have been 30 or 40 coppers.
'I went out, and without being a stickybeak (as you do), I was told quite probably 'GO, go back inside, do not come out'.
'It was only six doors down.'
Guildford resident Mark Anderson said he had just got up for work at 4.30am at his home on Bursill Street when the raids took place.
He saw a helicopter circling the area, a bright light and police yelling on a loudspeaker for someone to come outside.
Officers from AFP, NSW Police, and ASIO were heavily armed when they swooped on the houses
The raids come amid growing concerns that some Australians have been sending money overseas to support terrorist organisations
Police sniffer dogs were used inside the homes of the terror suspects
Callers describe the terror raids on Sydney radio station Triple...
'I heard them calling out to him to 'Come out!' for about 10 to 15 minutes. I don't know if he was too agreeable. I didn't really understand a name. It was pretty intense,' Mr Anderson said.
Dr Jamal Rifi, one of the Australian Islamic community’s most vocal critics of extremists fighting in the Middle East, tweeted his support for the raids.
‘Safety and security of ALL AUSTRALIAN is (everyone’s) responsibility,’ he said.
The raid comes after Prime Minister Tony Abbott raised Australia's terror threat alert from medium to high last week.
It's the highest alert level in more than a decade and means the chances of a terror strike is now considered 'much more likely', according to Mr Abbott.
NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said some of the people who were arrested had previously had their passports revoked
NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said now is a time for 'calm' as he spoke alongside AFP Acting Commissioner Andrew Colvin
NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione spoke at Sydney Police headquarters in Surry Hills, Sydney
The high alert means there will be more security at airports, ports, military bases, government buildings, public landmarks and major sporting events.
'Normal life in Australia can and must go on but there are people who wish to do us harm,' Mr Abbott said.
‘What we do have is intelligence is that there are people with the intent and the capability to mount attacks, here in Australia.
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THE LARGEST TERROR RAID IN AUSTRALIA'S HISTORY
Australia’s previous largest counterterrorism operation was Operation Pendennis, in which Victoria Police, the AFP and ASIO officers launched a series of raids in Melbourne in November 2005 and March 2006 and arrested 13 alleged members of an Islamic extremist cell that was planning a terrorist attack.
At trial, prosecutors alleged the group was committed to violent ‘jihad’ against those they perceived to be the enemies of Islam, and were planning a terrorist attack at the AFL Grand or at Melbourne’s Crown Casino.
Twelve of the 13 men arrested, including the organisation’s alleged ringleader Abdul Nacer Benbrika, were convicted in 2008 of terrorism-related charges, including being members of a terrorist organization and providing funding to a terrorist organisation.
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'We do know of people coming back from the Middle East, brutalised and accustomed to kill and do pose a direct threat to our community.'
ASIO Director-General of Security, David Irvine, advised the Federal Government to raise the terror threat to high.
'For some considerable years, indeed since the Bali attacks, Australia and Australian institutions and people have been regarded by al-Qaeda and its offshoots as, they would say, legitimate targets for attack,' Mr Irvine said.
'Here in Australia a number of plots have been thwarted. The threat, therefore has always been with us.
'What has happened in recent months, has been that the events in the Middle East have increased the level of activity among people who support some pretty distorted views, extremist violent views.'
The raids on Thursday come a day after a Sydney-based money transfer business owned by the sister and brother-in-law of convicted Sydney terrorist Khaled Sharrouf was shut down amid concerns it was being used to funnel funds to the Middle East to finance terrorism.
Police involved in the counter-terrorism raid on a unit block in Wentworthville, Sydney
Residents were shocked to find a huge police presence on their street when they woke up
The operation is bigger than Operation Pendennis in 2005
Police have revealed aerial footage of the moment they caught the terror suspects
Fifteen warrants have been undertaken at Sydney premises, with a further 10 warrants undertaken in relation to vehicles
The 12 locations where raids took place across Sydney's northwest
The Lakemba remittance provider, Bisotel Rieh Pty Ltd, owned by Damour Sharrouf and her husband Ahmed Alwash, was suspended after they could not account for millions of dollars transferred to Turkey and Lebanon.
While about 60 Australians are fighting in Iraq and Syria with groups such as Islamic State, another 100 are believed to be providing support from Australia.
The size of Thursday’s raid is reportedly larger than those carried out in 2005 when hundreds of AFP, ASIO and NSW police arrested 13 men who had been planning bomb attacks in Melbourne and Sydney.
A Sydney-based money transfer business owned by the sister and brother-in-law of convicted Sydney terrorist Khaled Sharrouf was shut down on Thursday
About 60 Australians, including Khaled Sharrouf (pictured), are fighting in Iraq and Syria with groups such as Islamic State
Father denies son is a terrorist after their house was raided:
Federal police raid house in Sydney suburb of Guildford: