Heavily armed officers in camouflage gear intercepted two cars with photographs from the scene showing suspects cable-tied on roadside
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Seven men detained in Sydney’s south-west in connection with possible planned violence have been released without charge.
Tactical operations police responded to “information received that a violent act was possibly being planned” on Thursday, a NSW police spokesperson said. On Friday, the NSW premier, Chris Minns, said he was “hugely concerned” by the incident.
The NSW police deputy commissioner David Hudson told ABC radio on Friday that officers conducted a high-risk vehicle stop in Liverpool against two vehicles at about 4pm on Thursday afternoon.
The men – aged between 19 and 24 – were released from custody at Liverpool police station on Friday pending further investigations, police said in a statement.
“Police acted quickly to prevent the advancement of any plan,” the statement said. “There is no immediate safety risk to the community. Investigations will continue to review all available evidence and an investigation into the matter remains ongoing.”
On Friday morning, Hudson said there were not “definitive links” between the men and the alleged Bondi gunmen “apart from potential commonality in some thinking, but no associations at this stage”.
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Asked if they allegedly adhered to a similar Islamist ideology to the Bondi gunmen, Hudson said: “That’s our belief at this stage, yes.”
Hudson said the men had travelled in convoy from Victoria in vehicles registered in that state, and were known to Victoria police. He said police had “some indication” the men may have sought to travel to Bondi on Thursday. He said police had “no specific intent in mind or proven at this stage”.
“That caused us some concerns … we certainly wouldn’t like to take that risk.
“We haven’t found weapons in the car, apart from, I think, a knife. And that, I think, justifies our decision to go early before they really do obtain any further capability.”
Hudson said on Friday morning police had sought an extension of a commonwealth detention warrant to detain the men until 7.30pm on Friday while investigations continued. He said police were attempting to put together sufficient evidence to lay charges against them.
“We made the decision that our tolerance for risk and threshold for risk is, as you can understand, very low at the moment following last Sunday’s atrocities.
“And we made the decision that we weren’t going to … take any chances in relation to what they might be doing.”
Before the seven were released, the NSW police commissioner, Mal Lanyon, flagged police would need to release the men if they didn’t have sufficient evidence.
“They will continue to be monitored whilst in New South Wales, and we will work closely with our Victorian and commonwealth law enforcement partners.”
On Friday, the Australian federal police commissioner, Krissy Barrett, said the incident was “an example of the high threat environment that we’re operating in”.
Footage and photos circulating on social media showed a white hatchback that appeared to have been damaged in a collision cordoned off by police tape on the intersection of George and Campbell streets in Liverpool.
Images also showed several heavily armed police in camouflage gear and detained men with their hands zip-tied behind their backs lined up against a nearby fence.
Reports said the cars had been rammed by police before the men were overpowered by officers.
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, said police were “engaging with their counterparts in New South Wales”.
“We’ve all seen the footage and the images of what has occurred and thank [NSW police] for their swift action,” she said. “But at this stage, there was just not enough information to speculate on why these people were traveling in this vehicle in this vicinity.”
Allan said she was seeking further information from the Victoria police commissioner, Mike Bush, once he had been briefed.
Additional reporting by Benita Kolovos
