A 24-year-old man has been charged over an alleged conspiracy to carry out a targeted public shooting in Sydney, following dramatic late-night police raids in the city’s southwest.
NSW Police said the man was arrested on Monday night at a Fairfield property, a day after heavily armed tactical officers first stormed the same luxury duplex on Isis Street at about 11pm on Sunday.
Police returned to the house at around 8.20pm on Monday, where detectives arrested the suspect. Authorities allege the plot involved plans for a targeted shooting.
NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said investigators believe the alleged plan was to carry out a specific attack. Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Lanyon praised officers for their work amid heightened security operations across Sydney.
“Our investigations haven’t stopped,” he said. “You will see numerous arrests made by Strike Force Raptor and other units that are actually keeping the community safe.”
Commissioner Lanyon added that police remain focused on addressing all serious criminal activity. “Whether it’s robberies, woundings, whatever it is, the NSW Police will be there,” he said, describing the arrest as “a great result”.
Footage from the initial raid showed tactical officers ordering at least three women out of the Fairfield home at gunpoint. Neighbours said police locked down the street for about an hour while officers cleared the property using a drone.
“They were asking people to come out, then they searched inside,” one resident told The Daily Telegraph, adding that the occupants were rarely seen in the area.
Police allege they seized prohibited drugs and a mobile phone from the Fairfield home during Sunday’s operation. A second mobile phone was allegedly seized from a separate address in Greenacre on Monday.
The man has been charged with a range of serious offences, including conspiracy to commit an offence, recruiting others to assist in criminal activity, knowingly directing the activities of a criminal group, discharging a firearm with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and possessing two unauthorised pistols.
Additional charges include multiple counts of supplying prohibited drugs, possessing or supplying a defaced firearm, and participating in a criminal group.
The accused was refused bail and is scheduled to appear before the Bail Division Court later today.
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