Teen caught with terror material said he could ‘blow up Melbourne’, court told

A Melbourne teenager accused of downloading a cache of violent terrorist material told another youth detention inmate he knew how to make bombs to “blow up the whole of Melbourne” days after his arrest, a court has heard.

The 17-year-old allegedly amassed a cache of bomb-making manuals and accessed Islamic State and al-Qaeda propaganda while researching nearby synagogues and Melbourne’s busiest intersection, the court heard on Thursday.

The disturbing details were aired in the Children’s Court after the teen applied for bail months after his arrest.

The teenager was arrested on March 24 after counterterrorism authorities were tipped off that he had allegedly ordered a custom IS flag from China.

Following the tip, Australian Federal Police and Victoria Police officers raided an inner-north housing commission unit, where the teenager, who is in year 12, lived with his parents and five siblings.

The arresting officers discovered the cache of extremist material on a USB, phone and computer belonging to the teenager, the court heard.

The files allegedly included an al-Qaeda video depicting a man in a balaclava instructing viewers on how to make TNT, as well as a step-by-step manual on manufacturing and placing a train derailment device.

Investigators also allegedly discovered a document that detailed how to source ingredients, mix them and assemble an explosive device.

Another eight-page document explained how to make RDX, a high-powered explosive material.

On his phone, detectives allegedly uncovered unedited videos of the Bondi massacre, the assassination of far-right influencer Charlie Kirk, and several recordings of extremist jihadist preachers.

On March 19, the teenager used Apple Maps to search for nearby synagogues before conducting further research on the East Melbourne Synagogue on Albert Street, the court heard.

Senior Constable Jonathan Lauder told the court that the teenager was also accused of engaging in further antisemitic activity, including Google searches for famous Jewish figures.

“This was followed by Google searches for ‘Satan with Jews image’; ‘Jews standing next to devil with horns’; ‘an old picture of Jews standing in front of house with Satan’; and ‘Jew population’,” Lauder told the court.

He is also alleged to have repeatedly searched for “Melbourne’s busiest intersection” on March 22.

Prosecutors allege the teenager used anonymising tools in an attempt to mask his online activity, which extended to frequenting a dark web site dedicated to streaming graphic, unedited videos of mass shootings, executions, torture and suicides.

He also allegedly frequently visited several pro-IS and al-Qaeda sites and stored pro-IS material on his phone.

Other alleged searches made by the teen included: “Al-Qaeda training manual”; “spy intelligence guide”; “most illegal dark website”; “Aldi black knife machete”; “Jihadi John knife”.

The prosecution opposed bail, arguing the teenager posed an unacceptable risk to the community.

The court heard that while in custody, the teen told another detainee he would teach him how to make explosives to “blow up the whole of Melbourne”.

Rajan Darjee, a forensic psychiatrist and extremism expert who prepared a report on the accused, said the teenager was not entirely open as to why he had been accessing the material.

“It makes it difficult to understand what he’s been doing and why, and how far along any path he might have gone,” Darjee said.

The psychiatrist said authorities’ concerns were “clearly legitimate”; however, he did not believe the teen was at risk of carrying out an attack anytime soon.

“From what I’ve seen of the material and searches, I think he was, at most, at the stage of researching what he may have been thinking of doing … as opposed to gathering materials or any of those kind of steps,” Darjee told the court.

The court heard the teen shared a room with his two younger brothers, who prosecutors believe could be at risk of radicalisation if the accused were released.

A decision on the teen’s bail application will be handed down next week.

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