‘Not there for tourism’: Police track alleged Bondi terrorist’s movements in Philippines

Australia’s top cop says there’s no evidence the father and son allegedly responsible for the nation’s worst terrorist attack operated as part of a broader terrorist cell but insisted they didn’t visit the Philippines as tourists just weeks before the December 14 tragedy.

AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett said the “initial assessment” by authorities suggested alleged killers Sajid and Naveed Akram acted alone and didn’t attend a training camp in the Asian nation.

At a press conference at AFP headquarters in Canberra on Tuesday, she said the two men travelled from their home in Sydney to Manila then on to Davao City in the southern Philippines on November 1. They returned to Sydney on November 29.

“The initial assessment from the Philippine National Police is that the individuals rarely left their hotel and there is no evidence to suggest they received training or underwent logistical preparation for their alleged attack,” she said.

Accommodation at the budget GV Hotel, located in downtown Davao City, is advertised online for as little as $18 a night, with hotel staff reporting they didn’t witness the men speaking with other guests or have any visitors and would only briefly leave the building by foot.

“There is no evidence to suggest these alleged offenders were part of a broader terrorist cell or were directed by others to carry out an attack,” Ms Barrett said.

“However, I want to be clear, I am not suggesting that they were there for tourism.”

Ms Barrett was noticeable careful with her language on Tuesday, saying that the probe was the most significant her team would work on, and she didn’t want to jeopardise the court case against the surviving alleged attacker.

The 24-year-old has been charged with 59 offences over the shooting, including 15 counts of murder

She said the ongoing prosecution “limits what information I can provide or what I can say”.

“We’ve got a prosecution before the court and I really want to be clear that this is one of, if not the most important investigation that the AFP and our partners will ever, ever do,” she said.

“We have got a community that is looking for answers. Therefore I won’t do anything or say anything that would potentially jeopardise investigation and our prosecution.”

Ms Barrett said the AFP were working alongside international partners and had sent an agency analyst to the Philippine to work directly with their counter-terrorism team.

“The AFP and our partners still have significant investigative work to undertake, and it is possible that new information or evidence may be forthcoming as part of that,” she said.

“The AFP and our partners have worked tirelessly to identify and target others who may try to leverage from this heinous hate-filled crime.

“An AFP analyst is deployed to the Philippines after the attack to support our members who are based in Manila and work very closely with the Philippine National Police.

“Their assistance during the past fortnight has been absolutely crucial.”

Ms Barrett described the swift work of Philippine authorities as “absolutely crucial” in preserving CCTV from the area during the time the Akrams spent in the country.

AFP officers are reviewing CCTV footage from the hotel and other places capturing the Akrams’ stay in the Philippines in what will be a long and tedious task to trawl through.

Ms Barrett said her counter-terrorism team were “through the sermons line by line” as the agency explore legal avenues to crack down on hate preaches.

“The AFP welcomes the Federal Government’s plans to strengthen hate speech laws,” she said.

“We have gone through the sermons line by line, sought out experts and legal advice on charging those who we believe are inciting hatred towards the Jewish community.

“Radicalisation and extremism can provide a pipeline of recruits to terror groups who are willing to use violence to advance their cause.”

“At this point in time, we don’t have any active prosecutions underway. That’s not to say that we don’t have ongoing investigations. And of course, with the new legislation that we will have available to us, that will be very helpful in terms of putting matters before the Court.”