Australia s national police agency on Friday revealed that the number of investigations it is conducting into far-right extremism has increased 750 per cent in the past 18 months.Australian Federal Police (AFP) Assistant Commissioner Scott Lee .
Police will allege the 19-year-old attempted to engage in a terrorist act.
Police say they suspect two incidents that occurred earlier in the year â a fire lit on February 18 in bushland outside of Melbourne and a public assault on a person in metropolitan Melbourne on March 10 â could have been motivated by religious extremism.
Victoria Police Counter Terrorism Command Assistant Commissioner Michael Hermans said investigators believed the risk posed by the three individuals had been increasing, prompting police to carry out the raids under Operation Loon Beek.
âWe saw a risk profile that was increasing, and we took action,â Mr Hermans said.
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A Melbourne man has been accused of trying to carry out a religiously motivated act of terror, with police warning the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated online youth radicalisation.
The 19-year-old Epping man was among three people arrested as part of a joint counter-terrorism operation in Melbourne s north on Wednesday morning.
A 20-year-old man from Epping and 16-year-old Glenroy boy were also arrested in the separate raids after investigators became concerned about a fire and an assault.
Police say they suspect the incidents - involving a fire in bushland about 30 minutes from Epping on 18 February and assault in a public place in metropolitan Melbourne on 10 March - may have been motivated by religious extremism .
Seven charged as police smash alleged criminal network supplying cocaine and firearms
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Seven charged as police smash alleged criminal network supplying cocaine and firearms
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Seven men have been charged following a year-and-a-half investigation into an alleged criminal network involved in the illicit supply of cocaine and firearms.
Police stormed 11 properties across the Southern Tablelands and Sydney, including a home in Bass Hill where authorities allegedly located almost 10 kilograms of cocaine and $1.5 million in cash behind a hidden wall.
Police have arrested seven men in a crackdown on an alleged criminal network supplying cocaine and firearms.