Seven men detained in Sydney’s south-west in connection with possible planned violence are believed to adhere to a similar ideology as the Bondi gunmen and may have been trying to visit Bondi, New South Wales police allege.
Tactical operations police responded to “information received that a violent act was possibly being planned” on Thursday, a NSW police spokesperson said. On Friday, the NSW premier, Chris Minns, said he was “hugely concerned” by the incident.
The NSW police deputy commissioner David Hudson told ABC radio on Friday officers conducted a high risk vehicle stop in Liverpool against two vehicles at about 4pm on Thursday afternoon.
Hudson said seven men arrested were still in police custody and had not been charged. “Investigations are ongoing and have been overnight,” he said. The men were due to be released on Friday evening if charges were not laid.
Hudson said there were not “definitive links” between the men and the alleged Bondi gunmen “apart from potential commonality in some thinking, but no associations at this stage”.
Asked if they allegedly adhered to a similar Islamist ideology to the Bondi gunmen, Hudson said: “That’s our belief at this stage, yes.”
Hudson said the men had travelled in convoy from Victoria in vehicles registered in that state, and were known to Victoria police. He said police had “some indication” the men may have sought to travel to Bondi on Thursday. He said police had “no specific intent in mind or proven at this stage”.
“That caused us some concerns … we certainly wouldn’t like to take that risk.
“We haven’t found weapons in the car, apart from, I think, a knife. And that, I think, justifies our decision to go early before they really do obtain any further capability.”
Hudson said police had sought an extension of a commonwealth detention warrant to detain the men until 7.30pm on Friday while investigations continued. He said police were attempting to put together sufficient evidence to lay charges against them.
“We made the decision that our tolerance for risk and threshold for risk is, as you can understand, very low at the moment following last Sunday’s atrocities.
“And we made the decision that we weren’t going to … take any chances in relation to what they might be doing.”
On Friday afternoon, the NSW police commissioner, Mal Lanyon, said the men would be released on Friday evening if police did not have enough evidence to lay charges.
“It’s a thorough investigation. We will have to release the men if we don’t have sufficient evidence,” he said.
“They will continue to be monitored whilst in New South Wales, and we will work closely with our Victorian and commonwealth law enforcement partners.”
On Friday the Australian Federal Police (AFP) commissioner, Krissy Barrett, said the incident was “an example of the high threat environment that we’re operating in”.
Footage and photos circulating on social media showed a white hatchback that appeared to have been damaged in a collision cordoned off by police tape on the intersection of George and Campbell streets in Liverpool.
Images also showed several heavily armed police in camouflage gear and detained men with their hands zip-tied behind their backs lined up against a nearby fence.
Reports said the cars had been rammed by police before the men were overpowered by officers.
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, said police were “engaging with their counterparts in New South Wales”.
“We’ve all seen the footage and the images of what has occurred and thank [NSW police] for their swift action,” she said. “But at this stage, there was just not enough information to speculate on why these people were traveling in this vehicle in this vicinity.”
Allan said she was seeking further information from the Victoria police commissioner, Mike Bush, once he had been briefed.
Additional reporting by Benita Kolovos
