Five teens charged with terror offences after NSW raids

The teens, one as young as 14, will appear in court today after police raided 10 Sydney homes and arrested seven minors in one of the largest series of terrorism raids in recent times.

A JCTT involving NSW, AFP and ASIO officers executed warrants and made arrests in Sydney. Picture: NSW Police Media

Five teenagers – one as young as 14 – are set to face court early Thursday afternoon charged with terrorism related offences after heavily armed police raided 10 homes in Sydney on Wednesday and arrested seven minors with alleged “violent extremist ideology” in one of the largest series of terrorism raids in recent times.

It comes as Islamic leaders slammed the heavy-handedness of police, saying they feared the raids would only further widen societal divisions against the Muslim community, and raised concerns that they had not been notified prior to the raids.

The raids were launched off the back of a snap meeting of the Joint Counter-Terrorism Team derived from intelligence gained from the seizure of a device from the 16-year-old accused of stabbing an Assyrian Orthodox bishop last week. It is understood the group had been messaging and contacting each other online.

Two 16-year-olds have been charged with conspiring to engage in an act in preparation for, or planning, a terrorist act and a 17 and 14-year-old have been charged with possessing or controlling violent extremist material.

A 17-year-old has been charged with conspiring to engage in an act in preparation for, or planning, a terrorist act as well as possessing a knife in a public place.

All five have been refused police bail and will face Parramatta Children’s Court on Thursday.

In a statement, a spokesperson for NSW police said “operational activity remains ongoing” with the other two juveniles who are in custody, as well as two en and three juvenile males, were “assisting police”.

Police had the group under “intense scrutiny and surveillance” prior to making the decision to raid the homes in southwest Sydney and premises in Goulburn, with raids – which commenced at 11:15am – still proceeding late into Wednesday night.

The Australian National Imams Council legal affairs adviser, Bilal Rauf, echoed concerns raised on Wednesday by the Lebanese Muslim Association, saying they too had been left in the dark.

“The safety of all of us is paramount,” he said.

“However, the sudden nature of the arrests came as a shock given that community organisations were not told of any issues nor were asked for any information.”

Mr Rauf criticised a “heavy-handed approach” towards the arrested teenagers – of the seven, five were charged on Thursday morning – particularly without the involvement of “elders, community organisations or social workers”.

“... (It) risks entrenching and promoting violence among disillusioned youth, alienating communities, and creating distress,” he said, saying the approach risked conflating religion and an ideology.

Mr Rauf said there was a “high-level of cynicism” in the manner in which police conducted the raids.

“It is concerning that before any engagement with community organisations or leaders, the authorities seemingly engaged with the media (first),” he said.

“ANIC and other organisations are hopeful of being provided with an understanding of the circumstances and that all parties are worked with for the wellbeing of all.”

NSW Police Force Deputy Commissioner David Hudson said on Wednesday the JCTT, comprising NSW police, the Australian Federal Police, ASIO, and the NSW Crime Commission, met on Tuesday and determined there was “unacceptable risk and threats” to the public.

“We will allege that these individuals adhered to a religiously motivated violent extremist ideology. These investigations have been progressing since the incident,” he said. “The investigations include comprehensive surveillance activities and intensive scrutiny of these individuals.

“Our current, purely investi­gative strategies could not adequately ensure public safety,” Commissioner Hudson said.

“As a result, we determined we needed to escalate our activities and overt action was required.

“Meetings were held (on Tuesday) between partner agencies where evidence was reviewed and considered. It was considered the group … posed an unacceptable risk to the people of NSW, and our current purely investigative strategies could not adequately ensure public safety.”

More than 400 heavily armed police were involved in the raids of homes in the suburbs of Bankstown, Prestons, Casula, Lurnea, Rydalmere, Greenacre, Strathfield, Chester Hill, and Punchbowl, as well as a premise in Goulburn.

The 16-year-old was alleged to have stabbed Bishop Mar Mari ­Emmanuel and three others ­during a live-streamed service at Wakeley’s Christ the Good Shepherd Church, sparking a riot.

The 53-year-old religious leader suffered lacerations to his head and was rushed to hospital. Three other people were injured.

The Christ the Good Shepherd service was being live-streamed and police estimated a crowd of 2000 people swarmed the church after the stabbing, causing destruction to police vehicles. Two police officers were also injured and taken to hospital.

NSW police deemed the stabbing attack terror-related – the first since 2017 – and launched a joint counter-terrorism team to lead the investigation. The 16-year-old has been charged with committing a terrorist act under section 101.1 Criminal Code Act, an offence that carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

Since the riot, police have made multiple arrests under Strike Force Dribs, most recently charging a 17-year-old on Tuesday with several offences, including possessing a gun.