Five teenagers were charged with terrorism offences amid an ongoing investigation into the stabbing of two people at a Sydney church earlier in April, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) said on Thursday.
“Five juveniles have been charged as the Joint Counter Terrorism Team (JCTT) Sydney continues to investigate the associates of the alleged offender who conducted the stabbing at a Wakeley church,” the AFP said in a statement.
More than 400 police from state and federal police executed 13 search warrants across Sydney on Wednesday night.
Seven young males were arrested. A further five people, including two men and three teenage boys, also assisted police with their inquiries, the statement said.
A 17-year-old boy and a 14-year-old boy were charged with possessing or controlling violent extremist material obtained or accessed using a carriage service.
Two 16-year-old boys were charged with conspiring to engage in any act in preparation for, or planning, a terrorist act, while another 17-year-old boy was charged with conspiring to engage in an act in preparation for, or planning, a terrorist act and custody of a knife in a public place.
A number of items, including electronic material, were also seized as a result of the police operation.
Last week, a 16-year-old boy was charged with a terrorism offence in relation to the stabbing at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley, western Sydney, on April 15.
A 53-year-old man sustained significant injuries to his head while a 39-year-old man sustained lacerations and a shoulder wound when he attempted to intervene.
The 16-year-old boy, who had been restrained by members of the public, was arrested.
Declaring a crime an act of terrorism gives police extra investigative powers, to determine whether a person acted alone or was part of a wider network.
