Counter-terror units stop 320 passengers from flying at Melbourne airport in past three years

COUNTER-terror Border Force units at Melbourne airport have prevented 320 passengers from flying in the past three years as they boost their efforts to stop potential jihadists leaving the country.

COUNTER-terror Border Force units at Melbourne Airport have prevented 320 passengers from flying in the past three years as they boost their efforts to stop potential jihadists leaving the country.

The Sunday Herald Sun can also reveal that the Australian Border Force CTU teams have detected $10.3 million in undeclared currency nationwide in that time.

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And the CTU team in Victoria has also made 183,000 real-time assessments of passengers.

Reasons why passengers may be “offloaded” include:

TRAVELLING to an airport close to a “declared area”, such as the Mosul district in Iraq. It is a criminal offence to intentionally enter a declared area.

CARRYING large amounts of undeclared cash.

EXTREMIST-related material found on electronic devices.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton praised the efforts of the CTU officers at Melbourne Airport.

“The CTU officers’ collection of intelligence is the most vital part of their work,” Mr Dutton told the Sunday Herald Sun.

“While interviewing suspects and searching through evidence, they might pick up a snippet or two of information that could save lives.”

Behind the scenes of Border Force at Melbourne airport. Picture: Nicole Garmston

The specialist ABF counter-terror unit has about 120 officers at airports across the country, including Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Cairns, Gold Coast, Adelaide, Darwin, Canberra, Townsville and the Sunshine Coast.

Craig Palmer, the ABF’s acting regional commander in Victoria, said the ongoing deployment of CTU officers at international airports was a critical part of protecting Australia from the ongoing terrorism threat.

“CTU officers intercept individuals travelling from Australia to unlawfully participate in foreign conflicts, manage border processes for those seeking to return from foreign conflicts, and assist to stem the associated illicit movement of goods and funds in support of terrorism,” Mr Palmer said.

“These officers play a key role in gathering information and making real-time assessments on the security threat of individuals moving in and out of Australia.”

In the past three years, CTU activity has resulted in more than 860 passenger offloads and 568,000 real-time assessments across the country.

According to the ABF, a passenger offload is where a traveller is subject to CTU intervention and does not travel as originally intended.

This includes where a decision is made to remove the traveller from the flight or when the passenger is unable to board their intended flight.

The government is still concerned about Australians who travel to conflict zones and return home with skills and intentions acquired from fighting or training with terrorist groups.

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@davidhurleyHS