Immigration detainee, 45, accused of making hundreds of threatening calls to police

Police have bemoaned an “frustrating waste of resources” after an immigration detainee was charged with allegedly making hundreds of threatening calls.

Police have bemoaned the “frustrating waste of resources” after an immigration detainee in Western Australia was charged over allegedly threatening phone calls.

The Moroccan national, 45, was arrested at the Yongah Hill Immigration Detention Centre on Thursday and charged with two offences of using carriage service to menace, harass or offend and using a carriage service to make threat to kill.

According to the Australian Federal Police, the man allegedly made 297 offensive phone calls to the AFP over 54 days in April through July.

This would be an average of 5.5 calls per day over the two-month period.

The 45-year-old will return to court in September. Picture: Australian Federal Police.

AFP Detective Acting Inspector Karen Addiscott said the man’s alleged calls could have disrupted or delayed genuine calls from being answered

“These types of calls not only impose a frustrating waste of resources for the agency targeted, they can be distressing and concerning for the people who answer them, even if they are not the direct target of the threats,” she said.

The man appeared in the Perth Magistrates’ Court on Friday where he was remanded in custody ahead of his next appearance on September 12.