5 days ago
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A 17-year-old boy has been charged with collecting terrorist manuals, guides and ISIS propaganda in Melbourne.
A joint taskforce of police and intelligence officers began investigating the boy after they detected an Islamic State flag was allegedly ordered to his property in the inner-city, with Victoria Police executing a search warrant at the address on Tuesday, seizing a mobile phone and laptop.
The boy was charged with one count of collecting or making documents that facilitate a terrorist act and one count of importing a prohibited object – an Islamic State flag.
The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared before a children’s court and was remanded to appear again at a later date. The charge for collecting or making such documents carries a maximum charge of 15 years.
“There is no currently identified threat to community safety,” a Victoria Police spokesperson said.
On Wednesday, a 16-year-old Sydney boy faced court in NSW for allegedly downloading extremist manuals and plotting a terror attack.
The court heard he downloaded a terror guide and a kill guide from an extremist group known to radicalise young people and began planning a violent attack.
The Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation’s current terrorism threat level is probable, meaning it believes there is a greater than 50 per cent chance on an onshore attack or attack planning in the next 12 months.
