An Australian preacher from Melbourne was among five men arrested in north Queensland on suspicions they planned to sail to Indonesia en route to join ISIS.
Musa Cerantino was arrested along with Kadir Kaya, Shayden Thorne and two unnamed men, all of whom were known to security agencies and had their passports revoked.
The group was arrested on Tuesday evening north of Cairns after towing a seven-metre boat on a minimum 31-hour drive from Melbourne.
The federal attorney general, George Brandis, said: “I can’t rule out the possibility that there may be others but this is the first attempt to leave Australia by vessel of which we are aware.”
The men, aged between 21 and 33, have not been charged and police have applied to extend their detainment.
Eight search warrants were executed in Melbourne on Wednesday in connection with the alleged plot.
The deputy commissioner of the Victoria police, Shane Patton, told reporters on Wednesday the seriousness of the allegations should not be downplayed.
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“I want to be perfectly clear,” he said. “This is a serious attempt by five men who are of security interest to us, who have had their passports cancelled.
“Ultimately we’re investigating the intention to possibly end up in Syria to fight.”
Alex Jones, a solicitor acting for Thorne, said on Wednesday he was not aware of any charges laid against his client.
