The Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the Victoria Police Wednesday searched the premises of several persons in Melbourne, Victoria suspected of providing assistance to the Liberation Tigers, Australian press reports said.
Although no arrests were made, the raids carried out early on Wednesday are related to an ongoing investigation, The Australian newspaper reported.
It quoted a federal police spokesperson as confirming that “a number of warrants were executed” and items were seized.
The nature and scope of the warrants remained unspecified, but the AFP said their investigation was into activities that did not involve plans to carry out an attack in Australia
A man who frequents the community centre told The Age newspaper: “It wasn’t like a raid. The police talked to people and took away a computer. No one was arrested or charged. The house is a resource centre. It’s like a library.”
The AFP have not made any arrests or laid any charges and those who were taken for questioning were all release later the same day, friends of some of those detained said.
The AFP say the investigations are not terrorism related, the Australian Broadcasting Cooperation reported. According to the AFP the raids are part of an ongoing investigation of a sensitive nature, the state-owned television station said.
Four Melbourne properties were raided by the police investigating possible links with the LTTE, The Age newspaper said.
However, the Melbourne building raided by the AFP is a Tamil community centre and a distribution centre for the Tamil newspaper, Eelamurasu, The Age newspaper quoted community sources as saying.
The Tamil Co-ordinating Committee (TCC) of Australia, raided on Wednesday, was a legitimate organisation looking after the welfare of Tamils in Melbourne and Sri Lanka, a community leader said.
Although no arrests were made, the raids carried out early on Wednesday are related to an ongoing investigation, The Australian newspaper reported.
It quoted a federal police spokesperson as confirming that “a number of warrants were executed” and items were seized.
The nature and scope of the warrants remained unspecified, but the AFP said their investigation was into activities that did not involve plans to carry out an attack in Australia
A man who frequents the community centre told The Age newspaper: “It wasn’t like a raid. The police talked to people and took away a computer. No one was arrested or charged. The house is a resource centre. It’s like a library.”
The AFP have not made any arrests or laid any charges and those who were taken for questioning were all release later the same day, friends of some of those detained said.
The AFP say the investigations are not terrorism related, the Australian Broadcasting Cooperation reported. According to the AFP the raids are part of an ongoing investigation of a sensitive nature, the state-owned television station said.
Four Melbourne properties were raided by the police investigating possible links with the LTTE, The Age newspaper said.
However, the Melbourne building raided by the AFP is a Tamil community centre and a distribution centre for the Tamil newspaper, Eelamurasu, The Age newspaper quoted community sources as saying.
The Tamil Co-ordinating Committee (TCC) of Australia, raided on Wednesday, was a legitimate organisation looking after the welfare of Tamils in Melbourne and Sri Lanka, a community leader said.
