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The man arrested at Merrylands this morning is led away.
TWO men have been charged in Western Sydney counter-terrorism raids over an alleged plot to target NSW Police and Australian Federal Police buildings as well as the naval base at Garden Island.
Neither Almaouie, 20, or Salihy, 24, appeared in Parramatta Local Court during brief appearances this afternoon.
The court heard Almaouie will next face Central Local Court on January 20, when three other men charged over the planning of the attack will also appear.
A prosecution brief of evidence is expected to be finalised by that date.
Court documents allege Almaouie “conspired†with five others, including a teenager currently before the children’s court, to “do acts in preparation for a terrorist act†between May 8 and December 14 last year.
Salihy was also formally refused bail and will face Central Local Court on March 2 on a charge of making a document likely to facilitate a terrorist act.
NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Catherine Burn this morning confirmed two men had been arrested in dawn raids but denied earlier reports the plot centred around 2014 New Year’s Eve festivities at the naval base.
Detectives make the arrest in Bankstown this morning.Source:News Corp Australia
Police lead away one of the men they arrested in a terror raid at Merrylands this morning.Source:Supplied
The Joint Counter Terrorism Team’s Operation Appleby has charged 12 people with 38 offences in relation to plots to allegedly commit terrorist acts targeting icon landmarks last year.
AFP and NSW Police counter terrorism officers have targeted a group of 20 men conducting raids from September last year with smaller raids in December last year and throughout this year.
Some of those raided have been implicated in the murder of police accountant Curtis Cheng at NSW Police headquarters in October. Raban Alou, 18, and Talal Alameddine, 22, have been charged in relation to the alleged sourcing of the pistol for Cheng’s killer teenager Farhad Jabar. Mustafa Dirani, 22, is also charged over the Cheng death with participating in a criminal group.
The Merrylands address where one man was arrested. Picture: Adam WardSource:News Corp Australia
The homes of both men have previously been raided by counter terrorism police.
Almaouie’s older brother Jibryl, 22, was charged earlier this month in relation to the alleged plot to attack the Australian Federal Police Sydney headquarters.
Garden Island is located just to the east of Mrs Macquarie’s Chair.Source:Supplied
He has also has pleaded guilty to possessing a cache of weapons at his Condell Park home found during an Appleby raid last December.
These were stored at the back of a wardrobe, hidden in the lining of a suitcase and taped up inside a locked filing cabinet.
The weapons included a .303 Bolt-Action rifle with a loaded magazine, a disassembled 12-gauge shotgun and a sawn-off shotgun. Police also discovered a shoulder belt loaded with live ammunition.
This morning’s two arrests bring the total number of people arrested as part of Operation Appleby investigations to 13.
NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Catherine Burn speaks this morning at the press conference.Source:Supplied
Garden Island, the alleged target of the plot, is north of Potts Point in the suburb of Woolloomooloo and the location of a naval base.
Operation Appleby is an ongoing operation being conducted by the Sydney-based Joint Counter Terrorism team, which is investigating persons suspected to be involved in domestic terrorist acts, foreign incursions into Syria and Iraq and the funding of terrorist organisations.
OPERATION APPLEBY AT A GLANCE
Strike Force Appleby Counter Terrorism arrest at 38-40 Memorial Avenue Merrylands. Pic: NSW PoliceSource:News Corp Australia
— Two men aged 24 and 20 arrested today (December 23, 2015) at Merrylands and Bankstown on terror-related offences.
— The 24-year old was charged with making a document likely to facilitate a terrorist attack.
— The 20-year old was charged with conspiracy to do an act in preparation to commit a terrorist act.
— Today’s raids follow the arrests of five people on December 10, 2015, over conspiracy to conduct an act in preparation for a terrorist act.
— In the December 10 raids a 15-year-old boy from Georges Hall and a 20-year-old from Raby were charged.
— Three other men, believed to all be inmates at the Goulburn Supermax prison, were also charged on December 10.
— That trio were already before the courts on related and unrelated matters.
— All arrested men on December 10 are associates of those connected with the murder of police accountant Curtis Cheng outside Parramatta police headquarters in October.
— All charges to date relate to material seized by Joint Counter Terrorism Team officers in December 2014.
— Police seized documents in December 2014 that “talk about a plan†naming government buildings “specifically the AFP buildingâ€.
- Today’s arrests relate to a further plot to target Garden Island naval base.
— The original plot involved the alleged planning of an attack on a random member of the public.
— All plots relate to activities allegedly planned in 2014 and police say there was no immediate threat at the time of today’s arrests.
— The Joint Counter Terrorism Team has made 13 arrests as part of Operation Appleby, which began in 2014.
The man arrested at Merrylands this morning is led away.Source:News Corp Australia
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