Five men arrested for attempt to use tinnie from Queensland to Indonesia to join Islamic State

Police foil an attempt by five men to use a small fishing boat to travel from Queensland to Indonesia to join Islamic State.

The boat that is thought to have been used by the men to travel from Australia. Picture: ABC TV.

Attorney-General George Brandis can’t rule out the possibility that would-be terrorists have already departed Australia by boat.

Senator Brandis confirmed today that five Melbourne men are in custody accused of planning to travel to Syria via Indonesia to join Islamic State.

The men, aged 21 to 33, whose passports had been cancelled, were arrested north of Cairns where it is believed they planned to launch a boat to travel to Indonesia.

Senator Brandis said it was the first attempt to leave Australia by vessel of which authorities were aware.

But he couldn’t guarantee there had not been others.

“I can’t rule out the possibility that there may be others,” he told reporters in Townsville.

Senator Brandis said the men were believed to have towed a seven-metre boat by road from Melbourne to far north Queensland with the intention of getting to Syria to engage in terrorist activities.

“The suspicion is that they were seeking to leave Australia by vessel to avoid the fact that they couldn’t travel by air because their passports had been cancelled,” he said.

No charges have yet been laid but eight search warrants have been executed in Melbourne on Wednesday following the arrests.

The arrests demonstrated the threat of Australians engaging in terrorist acts including in foreign countries remained “real and present”, Senator Brandis said.

Authorities won’t specify exactly where the men were arrested for operational reasons.

Senator Brandis said police had had visibility of the men for some time.

Radical preacher Musa Cerantonio is believed to be among the five men arrested.

The five men, all from Melbourne, had driven to Cairns with the boat, only to be arrested by the Australian Federal Police yesterday.

Mr Cerantonio, once named among the most influential English-speaking preachers among foreign fighters in Syria, is understood to be part of the group.

He had been deported back to Australia by the Philippines in 2014, after falsely claiming to be en-route to Syria.

It is also understood that Shayden Thorne, the brother of radical preacher Junaid Thorne, was also part of the group.

Australian Federal Police assistant commissioner Neil Gaughan confirmed that the men had been under investigation for “a number of weeks”.

“They were in a boat that was seven metres long. “They were committed, obviously very committed,” Mr Gaughan said in Melbourne.

The fact that they’d travelled from Melbourne to far north Queensland “indicates that these people were extremely committed in their adventure and their attempt to leave the country”.

The passports of the men had been cancelled, police said.

“I must stress that the investigation remains active and the focus is on ensuring community ... safety and disrupting criminal activity either on Australian soil or by Australians attempting to join overseas conflicts,” Mr Gaughan said.

Authorities are investigating whether the men were planing to make their way through Indonesia to the Philippines, with a plan to end up in Syria.

Victoria Police deputy commissioner Shane Patton said there was no threat of a terrorism incident arising from the investigation. Still, he said the alleged plot should not be downplayed.

“This is a serious attempt by five men who have had their passports cancelled in attempting to exit Australia ... ultimately we’re investigating the intention to possibly end up in Syria to fight,” he said.

The men five men, all from Melbourne, were described by authorities as “associates” but police would not say if they attended the same mosque.

Deputy Commissioner Patton said authorities were “continually monitoring persons of interest”.

“We will continue to disrupt, if they’re trying to get this, be it via boat, via plane or any other method. We have an obligation to ensure that people can’t go and support terrorism or fight in other conflict zones,” he said.

He said he would not divulge where the men were being held for security reasons.

Deputy Commissioner Patton also confirmed eight warrants were executed on Tuesday in Melbourne and one in Queensland in relation to the alleged plot.