‘Inspired by ISIS’: Three men charged and remanded over alleged plot to kill at crowded city location

UPDATE

Police intercepted 17,000 phone calls, more than 10,000 text messages and collected 7800 hours of listening device recordings in their investigation into the actions of terror accused, Ertunc Eriklioglu, Samed Eriklioglu and Hanifi Halis, a court has heard.

The court also heard the trio had been planning an attack sometime between November 12 and today, (November 20).

The men did not apply for bail, all three will remain in custody until a committal hearing on April 30 next year.

3AW reporter Stefanie Waclawik was in court.

EARLIER

Three people have been charged over an alleged terror plot to kill en masse in a crowded Melbourne location.

Police revealed the chilling details of the thwarted alleged plan after making the arrests in counter-terrorism raids in north-west Melbourne this morning.

They have assured Victorians there is no continued threat.

The three men have been named as 30-year-old Ertunc Eriklioglu of Dallas, 26-year-old Samed Eriklioglu of Campbellfield and 21-year-old Hanifi Halis from Greenvale.

All three are Australians of Turkish background.

Victoria’s police chief Graham Ashton said the men were “inspired by ISIS”.

“It has a lifetime penalty attached to it,” Assistant Commissioner Counter Terrorism Command Ross Guenther told Neil Mitchell.

“We thought the risk was just far too great to let the investigation run any further.”

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The investigation into the terror cell began in March, and the threat had become “more energised” since the Bourke Street attack on November 9.

Mr Ashton says the alleged terror plot aimed to target “a crowded place… to kill a maximum number people as possible”.

Police claim there were plans to use a “.22 calibre rifle to assist”.

The dawn raids started about 3am this morning.

It was a join operation between Victoria Police and Australian Federal Police.