Advertisement

Two Adelaide men arrested after raids allegedly find explosive, extremist material

SA Police have arrested two men after allegedly uncovering an improvised explosive device and extremist material in house raids targeting people associated with “ideologically motivated violent extremism”.

Apr 08, 2021, updated Apr 08, 2021

A 28-year-old man from Surrey Downs was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly possessing extremist material, while a 32-year-old man from Munno Para was also arrested for allegedly possessing an improvised explosive device, instructions for manufacturing explosives and prohibited weapons.

The Surrey Downs man has been bailed to appear in the Adelaide Magistrates Court June 22.

The Munno Para man has also been bailed will appear before the Elizabeth Magistrates Court May 26.

A SAPOL spokesperson said the investigation is ongoing and there has been “no known threat to any person or the public”.

SAPOL made a statement after inquiries from Business Insider Australia on Wednesday, following claims made by Tom Sewell, the head of the far-right National Socialist Network, on encrypted messaging platform Telegram.

Sewell reportedly posted a video on the site claiming police raided the homes of 15 of his group’s members, with one arrest made.

Premier Steven Marshall said SAPOL this morning briefed him on the arrests, and he described the situation as “very concerning”.

He also backed SAPOL’s assessment that the charged men do not pose a threat out on bail.

“My understanding from the police is that they didn’t oppose that bail, they’d done that risk assessment – so we’ll back our SAPOL officers,” Marshall told reporters this morning.

“Obviously we were concerned, we were briefed – it’s a matter before the courts at the moment.”

Asked whether he was concerned about a rise in extremism, Marshall said: “I think we see more extremist views being expressed right around the world”.

“We’re never going to be immune from it here in South Australia, but what I am very pleased about is that we have units that exist within SAPOL to identify any concerns whatsoever and take corrective action,” he said.

“That’s what happened in this regard, now we have a matter before the courts.”

Local News Matters
Advertisement
Copyright © 2024 InDaily.
All rights reserved.