Heavily armed Australian tactical police stopped two cars carrying seven men Thursday on the outskirts of Sydney amid the ongoing investigation into the terror attack on a Jewish holiday gathering at the city’s Bondi Beach.
As reported by news.com.au, police swooped on the group of men believed to have been on their way to the iconic city beach – revealing they were acting on information a “violent act” was possibly being planned.
Footage from the scene showed the handcuffed men face down on the ground, while later they were seen sitting facing a fence as heavily armed police and riot squad officers stood behind them.
Sources told the outlet a high level “classified” briefing was held before the operation commenced in the south-west suburb of Liverpool.
Only necessary representatives of NSW Police, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) elements were involved.
The men were reportedly travelling in two cars with number plates from the southern state of Victoria.
“At this point in time, police have not identified any connection to the current police investigation of the Bondi terror attack,” a statement from local forces detailed.
Australian AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett said on Thursday morning more raids were to come in the wake of the Bondi terror attack, per the news.com report.
In the coming days, the New South Wales Joint Counter Terrorism Team will execute further search warrants to support our investigation. There is a lot of material to be examined, and the AFP continues to work with both domestic and international partners to build a more complete picture of the movements and who the alleged offenders had contact with, both in Australia and offshore.
Police said there was no threat to the public and the operation had concluded.