AN urgent anti-terror operation has been launched in Melbourne just 10 days before the Commonwealth Games begin. Senior intelligence sources said agents were watching known associates of suspects identified during the anti-terrorist sting, Operation Pendennis, which culminated in the arrest of 19 men in Melbourne and Sydney in December.They have also targeted radical Islamic convert Gregory Middap, also known as Helmut Kirsch.
Security services are also monitoring Melbourne-based fundamentalist group Hizbut-Tahrir. At the same time suspected terror cells are being investigated in Canberra and Perth.
And it has emerged that the Games security blitz – the biggest in Australia's history – will cost around $200 million as 2600 Australian Defence Force troops are deployed across Melbourne. A contingent of SAS anti-terror troops and about 200 ASIO and Australian Federal Police agents have also deployed in Melbourne ahead of the Games. A massive operation aimed at vetting Games tourists and athletes is also under way.
Kirsch has a history of violent crime and was once a member of the right-wing National Action group before converting to Islam. ASIO has raided his North Melbourne hostel – which looks after homeless people and released prisoners – on at least one occasion, in 2003 after Kirsch visited Afghanistan.
Federal agents will work with police and intelligence agencies from around the world, combing the visas and details of the thousands of athletes and tourists coming to Melbourne. Overseas agencies have been passing on information about people and plans that may represent a threat to the Games. Security officials are especially interested in visitors from countries with links to al-Qaida and other terrorist organisations.
| e.g., Pakistan. |
Other suspected cells are being watched in Perth and Canberra after tip-offs that Muslim extremists were recruiting, intelligence sources said.
The ASIO and AFP activity comes as the Games security effort steps up. Several of Australia's frontline fighter jets, the FA-18s, will arrive in Melbourne this week, with pilots authorised to shoot down any rogue aircraft. The jets are expected to be located at Point Cook.
Black Hawk helicopters which have been scouring Melbourne on training runs will also be at work, ready to drop teams of Special Forces soldiers at a moment's notice. Officials will also put in place a 75km no-fly zone before the Games begin.
Ships will be ready to sink vessels which might be planning to use the Yarra River as a staging post for an attack on the MCG and an Australian Navy warship will be on alert in Port Philip Bay.
Crucial sites such as the MCG, Parliament, Federation Square and the Sports and Aquatic Centre will be under 24-hour CCTV surveillance. As well, hundreds of closed-circuit security cameras have been installed around the city to monitor quiet areas.