A 22-year-old Sydney man arrested in the nation's largest counter-terrorism operation allegedly conspired with Australia's most senior Islamist militant to launch a deadly attack on a random passerby, court documents show.
Early on Thursday morning hundreds of police swooped on a number of properties in Sydney and Brisbane conducting raids as part of and anti-terror operation.
Around 12 homes were searched in Sydney’s northwest suburbs by NSW Police and Australian Federal Police (AFP).
Police executed search warrants in Beecroft, Bellavista, Guildford, Merrylands, Northmead, Wentworthville, Marsfield, Westmead, Castle Hill, Revesby, Bass Hill and Regents Park.
The AFP also carried out three search warrants in Brisbane in the suburbs of Mount Gravatt East, Logan and Underwood.
The Queensland raids were not directly related to the operations in Sydney.
Bundles of cash and a curved sword inscribed with black foreign lettering were some of the incriminating pieces of evidence removed from a Sydney home during Thursday's terror raids.
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Omarjan Azari appeared in Sydney's Central Local Court charged with conspiracy to prepare a terrorist attack on Australian soil
According to court documents, police intercepted a phone call two days ago between Omarjan Azari, who was arrested on Thursday morning, and Mohammad Ali Baryalei - who is alleged to have recruited half of the 60 Australians fighting in the Middle East.
The account said Baryalei ordered him to carry out an attack which Sydney Central Local Court heard was 'clearly designed to shock, horror and terrify the community'.
Before it emerged this month that Baryalei had become a senior Islamic State militant, he worked as a bouncer in Sydney’s Kings Cross nightclub district and had also played a bit part in the TV series Underbelly.
Azari today appeared in court charged with a conspiracy to prepare a terrorist attack on Australian soil. He is the only man charged so far after police arrested 15 people in raids earlier today.
A second man, a 24-year-old from Merrylands in Sydney's west, was charged with possessing ammunition without license and unauthorised possession of a prohibited weapon.
He has been bailed to appear in Fairfield Local Court on September 24th.
Nine people were detained on Thursday, and two females were issued Future Court Attendance Notices.
Police Prosecutor Michael Allnutt told Central Local Court that Azari had made a threat during a phone call a few days ago which involved a 'random selection of persons to execute'.
A large sword was seized as part of the evidence found at a home in the suburb of Marsfield, in Sydney
The accused terrorist was taken from court in a high risk security orange prison jumpsuit by heavily armed NSW Corrective Services officer
Azari, who has dark hair, a beard and moustache, had displayed 'an unusual level of fanaticism' in the call, which was intercepted by police.
Azari's lawyer Steve Boland did not apply for bail but asked Magistrate Richard Bailey if Azari could go back down to the dock during the hearing.
Magistrate Bailey agreed and Azari, who had sat in the dock stroking his beard and smiled briefly while talking to Mr Boland, left the courtroom.
The hearing adjourned shortly afterward, and Mr Azari is due reappear in court via video link from prison on November 13.
The accused terrorist was taken from court in a high risk security orange prison jumpsuit by heavily armed NSW Corrective Services officers.
Officers with shotguns drove Azari - who put his head down between his handcuffs in the back seat of an armoured vehicle - from Central Local Court where the Sydney man made a brief appearance.
As a person accused of conspiracy to prepare for a terrorist act, Azari will be taken to a maximum security prison, most likely the High Risk Management Correctional Centre - also known as Supermax - inside Goulburn prison.
Police intercepted a phone call between the arrested Omarjan Azari and Mohammad Ali Baryalei (pictured) who worked as a bouncer at a Kings Cross nightclub and played a bit part in an episode of Underbelly
Mohammad Ali Baryalei (pictured) played a bit part in the popular Underbelly TV program
An armed police officer escorted Azari from court into a waiting prison van
Heavily armed police have made a number of arrests in a series of dawn raids in northwest Sydney
A car was searched across the road from the house that Omarjan Azari was arrested at
The court appearance followed a series of pre-dawn raids that saw 25 search warrants executed across Sydney's northwest, as well as a series of raids in three suburbs in Brisbane.
Officers said of the raids that: 'Police believe that this group that we have executed this operation on today had the intention, and had started to carry out planning, to commit violent acts here in Australia,' AFP Acting Commissioner Andrew Colvin told reporters in Sydney.
'Those violent acts particularly related to random acts against members of the public.'
Police sources revealed more details to Daily Mail Australia, that the plot involved abducting a member of the public in Sydney and beheading them. ABC reported that the abducted member of the public would be draped in an Islamic State flag and beheaded on camera.
Channel Seven reports that the random beheading would have been carried out in the streets of Martin Place in Sydney's CBD.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott confirmed that he was briefed on the anti-terror operation on Wednesday night.
He said a senior Australian ISIL member has asked supporters in Australia to carry out 'demonstration killings'.
'That's the intelligence we've received. That exhortations, quite direct exhortations, were coming from an Australian who is apparently quite senior in ISIL to networks of supporters in Australia to direct demonstration killings in Australia. This is not just suspicion this is in intent,' Mr Abbott said
the information he has received shows Australia is at a 'serious risk' from a terrorist attack.
'There are networks of people here in Australia who will do us harm and it's very important that we are one step ahead of them and I think this morning we were,' he added.
A similar attack occurred on British Army soldier, Lee Rigby, in May 2013. Quoting Canberra sources, the Nine Network reported an attack was imminent.
AFP Commissioner Colvin said: 'It is the largest operation of its type undertaken in Australia's history.'
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