Freeman died in a volley of gunfire on Monday after spending seven months on the run.
Freeman died in a volley of gunfire on Monday after spending seven months on the run.
Two people have been arrested as investigators continue to unravel the movements of fugitive police killer Dezi Freeman.
Police said a man and a woman were arrested at 7am today at two properties in northeast Victoria as part of the probe into Freeman’s movements following the shootings in Porepunkah lastAugust.
Victoria Police confirmed the pair were associates of Freeman and were not members of his family.
“The investigation remains ongoing and, as such, we are not in a position to provide further details at this immediate time,” a police spokesperson said.
Police are probing who purchased air vents for the storage container where Dezi Freeman was hiding out. Photo / 7News
Freeman died in a volley of gunfire on Monday after spending seven months on the run.
Police stormed a rural northeast Victorian property where he had been hiding in what resembled a shipping container and a caravan at Thologolong, near the NSW border. The property was more than 150 kilometres from Freeman’s home.
The lengthy manhunt ended in a hail of bullets outside the hide-out, with the fugitive understood to have fired two shots before police returned fire up to 20 times.
Freeman eventually emerged from the container wrapped in a blanket and cradling a gun, which detectives later confirmed was a firearm taken from one of the slain officers.
Air vents on top of the shipping containers where Freeman was found. Photo / 7News
Officers from Victoria’s Special Operations Group spent around three hours trying to persuade Freeman to surrender peacefully before gunfire erupted.
Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush said Freeman was “given every opportunity to resolve [the situation] peacefully”. Investigators had been monitoring a vehicle moving to and from the 56-year-old’s hide-out prior to the fatal shootout, which occurred around 8.30am on Monday.
Freeman had previously killed Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim De Waart-Hottart, and injured a third officer, before vanishing into thick bushland, a pursuit that triggered the largest tactical police operation in Australian history.
Police had offered a $1 million reward for information leading to his capture, although it remains unclear if anyone has claimed it.
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