Police swoop on ninth Sydney terrorism suspect: [1 All-round Country Edition]
Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 11 Nov 2005: 5.
Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 11 Nov 2005: 5.
Abstract
He will become the 18th terror suspect picked up since Australian Federal Police, ASIO and state police launched raids across Sydney and Melbourne early on Tuesday.
Miria Mahee, 25, told The Australian she heard a “whooshing, popping sound” from the burning car and heard footsteps running away. Ms Mahee said she looked inside the burnt-out car after calling the police, noticing “garden tools and a container of brown liquid”.
Police closed off suburban roads surrounding the burnt-out car for several hours yesterday while they examined the site. They removed various unidentified materials from the car before wrapping it in a large plastic tarpaulin and loading it on the back of a truck. The vehicle’s discovery came after it was revealed in The Australian yesterday that a chemical supply company in southwest Sydney had alerted police to a series of unusual purchases by Middle Eastern men.
Full Text
POLICE arrested a ninth Sydney man last night as part of the massive counter-terrorism operation across two states.
The 25-year-old was arrested using a Victorian warrant, with Victorian authorities expected to apply for his extradition to Melbourne when he appears in Sydney’s Central Local Court today.
Police have argued that there are links between the terror cells exposed this week in Sydney and Melbourne.
NSW counter-terrorism police stopped a car in Henson Street, in the western Sydney suburb Guildford, at about 5.40pm and arrestedthe male passenger “without incident”.
He will become the 18th terror suspect picked up since Australian Federal Police, ASIO and state police launched raids across Sydney and Melbourne early on Tuesday.
The latest arrest came as federal police seized a burnt-out car believed to have been used to transport bomb-making chemicals across western Sydney.
The maroon four-wheel-drive was discovered abandoned and torched in the early hours of yesterday morning in Bankstown, just two streets from the home of terror suspect Mohamed Elomar.
Residents in Northam Avenue called the fire brigade at 3am, reporting explosive noises coming from the burning vehicle.
Miria Mahee, 25, told The Australian she heard a “whooshing, popping sound” from the burning car and heard footsteps running away. Ms Mahee said she looked inside the burnt-out car after calling the police, noticing “garden tools and a container of brown liquid”.
As forensic and bomb specialists pored over the car before taking it away for further forensic examination, Ms Mahee was asked to evacuate her home briefly.
NSW Premier Morris Iemma confirmed the car’s seizure was part of this week’s counter-terrorism investigations and arrests of alleged terrorists, which was known as Operation Pendennis. “The vehicle may contain items that could be of interest to authorities as part of their ongoing investigations,” he said.
The car is believed to have been used to transport chemicals and is understood to have been under surveillance by police for several weeks. The vehicle will be examined for any DNA evidence.
Police closed off suburban roads surrounding the burnt-out car for several hours yesterday while they examined the site. They removed various unidentified materials from the car before wrapping it in a large plastic tarpaulin and loading it on the back of a truck. The vehicle’s discovery came after it was revealed in The Australian yesterday that a chemical supply company in southwest Sydney had alerted police to a series of unusual purchases by Middle Eastern men.
Yesterday, Australia’s peak chemical industry body said state and federal governments had failed to implement national controls over chemicals that could pose security threats.
POLICE arrested a ninth Sydney man last night as part of the massive counter-terrorism operation across two states.
The 25-year-old was arrested using a Victorian warrant, with Victorian authorities expected to apply for his extradition to Melbourne when he appears in Sydney’s Central Local Court today.
Police have argued that there are links between the terror cells exposed this week in Sydney and Melbourne.
NSW counter-terrorism police stopped a car in Henson Street, in the western Sydney suburb Guildford, at about 5.40pm and arrestedthe male passenger “without incident”.
He will become the 18th terror suspect picked up since Australian Federal Police, ASIO and state police launched raids across Sydney and Melbourne early on Tuesday.
The latest arrest came as federal police seized a burnt-out car believed to have been used to transport bomb-making chemicals across western Sydney.
The maroon four-wheel-drive was discovered abandoned and torched in the early hours of yesterday morning in Bankstown, just two streets from the home of terror suspect Mohamed Elomar.
Residents in Northam Avenue called the fire brigade at 3am, reporting explosive noises coming from the burning vehicle.
Miria Mahee, 25, told The Australian she heard a “whooshing, popping sound” from the burning car and heard footsteps running away. Ms Mahee said she looked inside the burnt-out car after calling the police, noticing “garden tools and a container of brown liquid”.
As forensic and bomb specialists pored over the car before taking it away for further forensic examination, Ms Mahee was asked to evacuate her home briefly.
NSW Premier Morris Iemma confirmed the car’s seizure was part of this week’s counter-terrorism investigations and arrests of alleged terrorists, which was known as Operation Pendennis. “The vehicle may contain items that could be of interest to authorities as part of their ongoing investigations,” he said.
The car is believed to have been used to transport chemicals and is understood to have been under surveillance by police for several weeks. The vehicle will be examined for any DNA evidence.
Police closed off suburban roads surrounding the burnt-out car for several hours yesterday while they examined the site. They removed various unidentified materials from the car before wrapping it in a large plastic tarpaulin and loading it on the back of a truck. The vehicle’s discovery came after it was revealed in The Australian yesterday that a chemical supply company in southwest Sydney had alerted police to a series of unusual purchases by Middle Eastern men.
Yesterday, Australia’s peak chemical industry body said state and federal governments had failed to implement national controls over chemicals that could pose security threats.