Zarna Barbar behind bars after police raid allegedly uncovered explosives, detonators packed inside garage
A 26-year-old Melbourne woman has been remanded in custody after the bomb squad allegedly uncovered industrial explosives and detonators packed inside a suburban garage.
Police & Courts
Don't miss out on the headlines from Police & Courts. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A 26-year-old Melbourne woman is behind bars after a police raid allegedly uncovered industrial explosives and detonators packed inside a suburban garage.
Detectives searched a residential address in Cranbourne on Wednesday morning where they discovered about 15kg of explosives, more than 40kg of precursor chemicals used to manufacture explosives, and over 60 dentonation devices.
The raid, carried out by specialist officers from Victoria Police’s Bomb Response Unit, was part of an ongoing investigation into the theft of motor vehicles in the Frankston area.
Zarna Barbar, 26, was arrested at the scene and has since been charged with 10 offences, including possessing an explosive substance, possessing ammunition, theft of a motor vehicle, trafficking and possessing a drug of dependence and handling stolen goods.
She appeared in the Frankston Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, where she was remanded in custody.
Ms Barbar’s lawyer, Zarah Garde-Wilson, said her client had previously been diagnosed with depression and was “withdrawing from methamphetamine and GHB”.
The matter was adjourned until June 18 for a further mention hearing.
Court documents reveal the investigation began after a victim reported his orange Holden Commodore stolen from his driveway sometime between April 28 and 29. The owner, who still had both sets of keys, suspected electronic means were used to steal the car.
On April 29, a man contacted the victim via Facebook Messenger and shared a Snapchat video uploaded by an account under the name “zarnamay”.
In the footage, a woman could be seen laughing from the passenger seat of the stolen car as it performed burnouts on Evans Rd in Cranbourne.
The car was recovered the next day, April 30, after a witness spotted it parked in Cupit St, just 300m from Ms Barbar’s home.
Police obtained a searched warrant for Ms Barbar’s residence, where they made a disturbing discovery. It is alleged a barrel containing industrial-grade explosives labelled “Magnum Powergel”, 80 detonators and more than 100 tubes of explosive gel were stashed inside the garage.
The search also allegedly uncovered a machete, multiple zip lock bags containing white power believed to be drugs, white tablets, two ice pipes and multiple bottles of viscous liquid suspected to be drug-related substances – some of which were concealed inside a hand sanitiser bottle and Coca-Cola bottle.
Ammunition for various high-powered firearms was also allegedly found inside a fish food container on a coffee table inside the home.
A Victoria Police lanyard, multiple IDs and bank cards in other people’s names, and an Autel key fob — often used to access or reprogram car key systems — were also seized.
Police say Ms Barbar poses an “unacceptable risk” to the community and is trafficking dangerous drugs not for personal use, but out of “greed.”
Investigators expressed concern over the large quantity of unstable explosives stored in a suburban setting, warning that “the very real potential to create a spark” could have resulted in a catastrophic explosion.
Ms Barbar made no comment during her police interview and did not provide access to her electronic devices.
Kicks fly, punches thrown in ugly footy fan brawl at MCG
Three Hawthorn fans were filmed kicking and punching another footy fan in the stands of the MCG in a brawl on the radar of Victoria Police. Watch the video.
Controversial YouTuber’s Melb food truck hit by arsonists
A food truck belonging to rapper and hood storyteller Spanian has been damaged in an arson attack — the blaze coming two weeks after its opening attracted thousands of customers.