Five Sydney males, including a 15-year-old boy, have been accused of conspiring to plot a terrorist attack targeting government buildings.
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Four men between the ages of 20 and 22, along with a 15-year-old boy, were arrested Thursday morning in Sydney, Australia on suspicion of planning to carry out a terrorist attack in the city.
The three other men who were being questioned this morning about this latest case were already in custody after being detained late previous year in police raids.
They were charged with one count each of conspiracy to conduct an act in preparation for a terrorist act, which carries a sentence up to life in jail.
The boy’s associates had connections with another 15-year-old boy who shot and killed a civilian police employee outside a Sydney police station in October.
“Banana” was the code word for “firearm” in text messages sent by a 15-year-old terror suspect to his alleged co-conspirator, a court has heard.
According to the Australian, handwritten notes were obtained from Sydney counter-terrorism raids in December 2014. Those arrested Thursday had been under police surveillance since then, which led to the charges. The remaining two had been denied bail and are set to appear in court on Wednesday, the Australian Federal Police reportedly said in a statement. “The Department of Education are aware of today’s activities, and we are working with schools because the whole aim is to prevent this thing from occurring”.
The games are part of a two-year partnership with Destination NSW – the club’s first official tourism partner – that will see the state promoted through perimeter signage at Arsenal’s home ground, Emirates Stadium.
“We do operate in a very different environment, we are now dealing with very real threats and risks to our own office”, police commissioner Andrew Scipione has previously said.
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Joint Counter Terrorism Team (JCTT) officers have been keeping the alleged conspirators under watch since plots were disrupted last December, he said in response to questions about whether the arrested men had continued plotting an attack.
