The seven men arrested on Friday over claims of ties to “extremist ideology” have been released, with police lacking sufficient evidence to charge them with any offences.
The dramatic arrests unfolded in Liverpool when heavily armed officers rammed the two cars the men were travelling in and zip-tied them on the street.
At the time, police said they were acting on information of “significant concern” that a “violent act was possibly being planned” by the group, according to the ABC.
Authorities claimed the men may have been en route to Bondi at the time of their arrest, but links to the Bondi terror attack have since been ruled out upon the group’s release.
“The justification for their ongoing detention no longer exists,” deputy NSW Police commissioner Dave Hudson told reporters on Friday, per SBS.
“If they haven’t been charged, they’re not subject to bail conditions … we will monitor these men whilst they’re in NSW,” Hudson said.
The arrests were made under rarely used terrorism and national security legislation that allows law enforcement to detain and question suspects for up to a week before laying charges.
Speaking to the media after their release, some of the men — who are believed to have travelled from Victoria — denied claims of extremism and said they were en route to their accommodation while holidaying in Sydney.
“We didn’t do nothing wrong, there was nothing found on us,” one of the men told reporters, per SBS.
“My head got smashed, I was bleeding all over my head. [Police] were like ‘bloody terrorists’,” he added.
A lawyer representing the group said they are considering legal action after the arrests, but no filings have been lodged at the time of writing.
Hudson said the arrests came at a time when authorities’ “tolerance for risk” was “very low” in the wake of the Bondi terror attack.
Footage of the arrest shows two men dressed in black with their hands zip-tied behind their backs in front of multiple armed officers.
One of the men was reportedly known to ASIO, but NSW Police commissioner Mal Lanyon could not confirm the status of that investigation.
On Thursday, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said, per The Australian, that more raids would come in the wake of the Bondi Beach terror attack.
“In the coming days, the New South Wales Joint Counter Terrorism Team will execute further search warrants to support our investigation,” Barrett said.
Lead image: 9News
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