Seven men detained in a dramatic arrest on a Sydney street after warnings a “violent act” was potentially being planned could be released as soon as tonight.
The men had travelled from Victoria when tactical officers rammed a white Hyundai i30 and deployed rounds of rubber bullets during a traffic stop at the intersection of George and Campbell Sts in Liverpool on Thursday.
A second vehicle, a Victorian-plated Toyota Yaris, was also intercepted a few minutes away but did not sustain serious damage.
This morning, the men – at least one of whom was reportedly being monitored by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) – were assisting police with their inquiries, according to officers.
At midday, NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said the men would be released pending a review of “evidence to determine whether it’s a justification to detain them”.
“Justification no longer exists unless you find new evidence, more evidence, they’re being released at 7.30pm or sooner,” he said.
“It’s a thorough investigation – we will have to release the men if we don’t have sufficient evidence.”
He confirmed “Islamic extremist ideology is something we are looking at between them” – the group of men and the alleged Bondi gunmen.
Addressing the media, Lanyon defended the decision to detain the men.
“The actual motive or the likely potential violent attack is unknown, but we were not prepared to take any risk.
“We have an incredibly low tolerance for risk.”
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said that she was seeking advice from Victoria Police about the ideology of the seven men arrested, but said she could not comment fully while the investigation was ongoing.
“It’s a little early to speculate on why these individuals were undertaking this behaviour; we have to make sure there’s not a crossover with any other investigation,” Allan said.
“I will acknowledge that everyone across the community, these are heightened times.
“People are concerned for their safety and the safety of others as a result of that evil terrorist attack on Bondi Beach on Sunday evening. So I do understand how these are heightened times.”
Victorian Opposition Leader Jess Wilson said the reports of the men’s shared ideology were “very concerning” and it showed the need to enact reforms to stamp out hate speech.
“I think this is something that should concern all Australians here in Victoria and right around the country,” she said.
“Because we’ve just seen a terror incident, we’ve just seen the loss of life, innocent people, a 10-year-old girl, this is the consequences of not stamping out hate speech, incitement of violence, that extremist ideology.
“And what we need now is to allow that investigation, that terrorism investigation, to take place, we need to allow people to grieve.”
Deputy Commissioner David Hudson approved the operation and said officers were seeking a “clearer picture (of) what was potentially going to occur yesterday”.
Police had not established a definitive link between the group and Sajid and Naveed Akram, Hudson said.
“However, there’s an environment that is quite small and certain ideologies and beliefs limited to a very small group of people,” he said.
“So while there’s no definitive links, that’s part of our investigation, which will hopefully get better defined by the end of the day.”
Speaking later to the ABC, Hudson was even clearer, stating the men had a “similar sort of ideological adherence to Islamic extremism”.
“That’s our belief at this stage”.
Reports state one of the men detained was under an active Asio investigation, and another was known to the security service.
Speaking to 2GB, Hudson said police received information that “caused us significant concern in relation to a possible violent act that could have been committed”.
“We decided to interdict at the earliest opportunity,” he said.
Hudson confirmed police had received information the men may have been travelling to Bondi.
The vehicles had travelled from Victoria, Hudson said, though no weapons or firearms were found.
“I think that supports the decision to go early before any potential weapons could be obtained by this crew,” he said.
Hudson said police had sought a Commonwealth detention warrant, meaning the men could remain in custody until 7.30pm on Friday.
He acknowledged video of the arrest was “confronting” but said the “strategies and tactics we utilised yesterday are the most appropriate and the safest”.
In an earlier statement, NSW Police said tactical operations police had responded to “information received that a violent act was possibly being planned”.
“Police subsequently intercepted two cars as part of the investigation,” the spokesperson said.
“As investigations continue, seven men are assisting police with their inquiries.
At this point in time, police have not identified any connection to the current police investigation of the Bondi terror attack.
In video of the arrest, a tactical officer can be seen standing over the men while holding his weapon as the group lay on the roadside before another officer handcuffs them.
At least one of the men can be seen in the video with a bloodied face.
Liberal MP Tim Wilson said that while details were still forthcoming, “people’s minds logically go to terrifying outcomes”.
“Police don’t ram vehicles lightly. They don’t have counter-terrorism forces to send upon vehicles like this lightly” he told Today.
“It says that they obviously have serious intelligence and they’re going to take action.”
Health Minister Mark Butler said images of the arrest were “extraordinary”.
“They remind us that while we’re all mourning, while the nation is trying to come to grips with what happened on Sunday night, our policing intelligence authorities are still working day and night to keep our country safe from any further threats of violence and harm,” he said.
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