Story highlights
Financing terrorism carries a maximum prison sentence of 25 years
Police deputy commissioner says there is a growing number of teenagers becoming involved in terrorist activities
No new specific threat to Australia
Australian police have arrested a 20-year-old man and a 16-year-old girl in suburban Sydney on suspicion of transferring money overseas to fund ISIS.
New South Wales Police Force Deputy Commissioner Catherine Burn told reporters Tuesday that the two – their identities withheld – were obtaining money and sending it to ISIS to assist with the terror organization’s activities. Their charge – financing terrorism – potentially carries a maximum of 25 years in prison, according to Burn.
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The charge will be formally announced when the two suspects appear in court. Burn didn’t specify how the money was raised but added that there are a number of people involved in similar activities in the country, which the police are investigating.
Police arrested them in Guildford, west of Sydney, as part of an ongoing counter-terror operation, Burn said.
She said the 20-year-old man has been on the police’s radar for some time, while the teenage girl – who is still in school – is “not somebody well known” to them.
Burn says the police will continue to look into the girl’s history, adding that there is a growing trend of teenagers becoming involved in terrorist activities.
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She said there is no specific new threat in the country.