A Melbourne man has been accused of making an attempt to hold out a religiously motivated act of terror, with police warning the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated on-line youth radicalisation.
The 19-year-old Epping man was amongst three individuals arrested as a part of a joint counter-terrorism operation in Melbourne’s north on Wednesday morning.
A 20-year-old man from Epping and 16-year-old Glenroy boy have been additionally arrested within the separate raids after investigators turned involved a few hearth and an assault.
Police say they think the incidents – involving a hearth in bushland about half-hour from Epping on 18 February and assault in a public place in metropolitan Melbourne on 10 March – could have been motivated by “non secular extremism”.
“It’s Islamic,” Assistant Commissioner Michael Hermans instructed reporters.
“However let me make it very clear that we goal the crime, not the ideology. It makes no distinction to us.”
Fellow Assistant Commissioner Scott Lee, from the Australian Federal Police’s counter-terrorism and particular investigations unit, mentioned the character of fireplace had stoked their suspicions.
“There may be an ideology, and a violent extremist ideology, that has brought about us concern, and it is on account of that ideology that we’re taking a look at these incidents being linked to a terrorism motivation,” he mentioned.
“There are particular features to the lighting of the hearth that leads us to suspect it was a terrorism motivation.”
Mr Hermans mentioned police took motion on Wednesday after observing an rising “threat profile” among the many trio.
Two of the males are from the identical household. Neither has been charged, though Mr Lee flagged terrorism-related offences might be laid in a while Wednesday.
Police allege the 19 yr previous tried to have interaction in a terrorist act, which might carry a possible sentence of life in jail.
The teenage boy has been launched pending additional inquiries.
No additional arrests are anticipated.
“The three people that we have taken motion on at the moment, we’re comfy that has contained the danger,” Mr Lee mentioned.
With all three males aged 20 or beneath, Mr Lee conceded counter-terrorism groups throughout the globe have been coping with a “youthful and youthful” demographic.
There’s a vary of things behind the “phenomenon”, however the magnification of the net setting shouldn’t be underestimated, he mentioned.
“That is definitely what we have seen all through the COVID interval as individuals have come out into the bodily world (after being) in isolation and pushed into the net setting,” Mr Lee added.
“That is actually exacerbated a few of the radicalisation that we have seen. Not solely across the nation but in addition globally by way of counter-terrorism setting.”