This was the second AFP arrest in a few days.
The 51-year-old German citizen has been arrested on charges that allegedly helped him escape the country in connection with the fear of an anti-Semitic caravan bomb.
This is the second recent arrest by the Australian Federal Police.
Authorities claim that the main suspects involved in the January terrorist plot, centering on a caravan packed with explosives in Sydney’s suburbs, fled the country in 2023.
The Counterterrorism Task Force believes the escape has been carefully coordinated by a network supporting fugitives.
The case was ultimately exposed as a hoax devised by the Crime Syndicate, but investigators say it was intended to be used as leverage for criminal reduction.
This development occurred during a period of growing anti-Semitic activity in Sydney and Melbourne, raising further concerns about organized criminal involvement.
Arrested and Maritime Escape Route
On March 21, a 57-year-old Queensland man was taken into custody on similar charges.
Related Stories
Police allegedly claimed that the German citizen and Queenslander were part of the yacht crew and retrieved the 35-year-old suspect at the ATEA relocation.
The ship reportedly departed from the island north of the country on Thursday on September 21, 2023 and arrived in Phuket, Thailand on November 2, 2023.
The report also suggests that German citizens hired a Queensland man as deckhand about 10 days before the yacht was set sail, reinforcing suspicions of planned escape plans.
The latest arrest follows an ongoing AFP investigation based on Operation Harrakis, which focuses on the dismantling of a criminal network accused of promoting the escape of famous criminals from Australia.
Relationship between Ironside and AFP’s suppression operations
The fugitive in question was accused of Operation Ironside to handle illegal funds of more than $100,000. This was a crime under Section 400.4 of the Criminal Code (CTH), which was sentenced to a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Additional charges were later raised against him due to conspiracy to import commercial volumes of border control drugs punished by life sentence under Section 307.1 of the Criminal Code (CTH).
Operation Ironside, a three-year secret investigation led by AFP, has targeted major detective syndicates that aim to smuggle drugs and weapons into Australia and order targeted killings using an encrypted device known as the AN0M.
So far, the operation has resulted in more than 400 arrests and more than 2,350 charges.
“AFP has meticulously chosen to run the suspect’s crime syndicate, and yesterday’s operation is a testament to the skills and dedication of the investigators,” said AFP Commander Naomi Binsted.
