Australian Federal Police

A Sydney man has appeared before court charged with an act of indecency onboard an international flight. The man, 50, was travelling on a flight from Dubai to Sydney after he allegedly harassed a fellow passenger. The passenger alerted the airline crew to the incident, who then notified the AFP. AFP officers attended the aircraft’s arrival at Sydney Airport on 27 April 2024. Officers investigated the claims, interviewing passengers and airline crew. On 10 June 2024, the man attended the AFP office at Sydney Airport and was issued with a court attendance notice.

⚠️ Content warning. A West Australian man has appeared before the Perth Magistrates Court charged with allegedly accessing and possessing online child abuse material. The Western Australia Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (WA JACET) arrested and charged the man, 56, after executing a search warrant at his home in the Perth suburb of Como. Preliminary analysis of a mobile device seized at the home allegedly identified about 1000 images and videos of child abuse. The arrest came after WA JACET, which comprises the AFP and Western Australia Police Force, investigated a report from the United States’ National Center for Missing & Exploited Children about a user uploading child abuse material online. WA JACET investigators allegedly linked the man to the illegal online activity.

⚠️ Content warning. The AFP has removed seven potential victims from sexual exploitation in Australia following an investigation that has resulted in a Sydney man being charged with allegedly trafficking a child from Indonesia. The Arncliffe man, 43, is expected to appear in court today after a complex AFP-led investigation in Australia and Indonesia. The 20-month joint investigation called Operation Mirani was conducted between the AFP, Australian Department of Home Affairs and indonesian national police inp. The AFP will allege the man is the principal of an organised crime syndicate that profited from human trafficking and worked with an Indonesian-based recruiter to find victims to send to Australia. It will be alleged he facilitated the transportation of a 17-year-old from Indonesia to Sydney to engage in sex work. The investigation began in December 2022, following the AFP receiving intelligence alleging foreign nationals were arriving in Australian and being forced into sexual servitude in breach of their visa conditions. Investigators identified the Arncliffe man as the alleged on-shore facilitator for multiple women who had arrived in Australia and subsequently engaged in sex work. If convicted, the man faces a maximum penalty of 25 years’ imprisonment.

Meet the AFP’s Target Development Team (TDT), who gather intelligence on some of Australia's highest-ranking criminals and develop strategies to apprehend them in Australia or overseas. The TDT plays a crucial role in providing the AFP with insights into local and international crime trends, emerging issues, identifying high-value targets, and engaging with key law enforcement partners and private industry stakeholders. The team's work has enabled the seizure of more than 585kg of methamphetamine, 253kg of heroin, 350kg of cocaine, 70kg of cannabis, and $895,000 cash. It has also helped the AFP restrain assets worth more than $21 million. The TDT's core skills include surveillance, the ability to recruit and manage informants and developing undercover operations which is why we can’t show their faces.

A man from Butler, Western Australia has been charged with allegedly threatening airline and airport staff at Perth Airport. The AFP arrested the man, 31, in the carpark of the Perth Airport after he allegedly jumped over a counter into a restricted area and threatened an airline worker. When he was approached by airport security, he allegedly threatened them with violence before leaving the terminal and entering the carpark, where he was arrested by AFP officers. The AFP has zero tolerance for antisocial, violent or dangerous behaviour and will prosecute anyone if they pose a threat to people’s safety.

A Queensland man has been sentenced to imprisonment for child grooming and child abuse material-related offences. The investigation began in 2021, after the AFP-led Australian Centre To Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) received reports from the United States’ National Center for Missing & Exploited Children about child abuse material being uploaded to Instagram. AFP Child Protection Operations investigators linked the man from the Moreton Bay Region to the account that uploaded the child abuse material online. Officers executed a search warrant at the man’s home in 2021, where they searched the property with assistance from an AFP technology detection dog. AFP Forensic specialists examined the mobile phones located at the home, which were found to contain child abuse material and account details linked to the Instagram account where the child abuse material was uploaded. The man used an image of a young man and called himself “Ben” in an attempt to communicate with young girls online. The AFP and our partners will look into every report of child sexual abuse to stop the exploitation of children and bring to justice the people contributing to this abhorrent offending.

A South Fremantle man has been charged with allegedly assaulting a member of the public at Perth Airport. The AFP arrested the man after he allegedly shoulder charged and punched another man, shortly after disembarking a flight that had arrived at Perth Airport from Bali. If you require a police presence at an airport, or wish to report an incident or provide information, please call AFP’s Airport Watch on 131 AFP (131 237).

A podcast about the lives lost, families impacted and those dedicated to finding answers in the aftermath of the MH17 tragedy. Available now on all popular podcast platforms. Learn more at www.afp.gov.au/mh17

‼️ ALERT ‼️ The AFP understands a number of malicious websites and unofficial code are being released claiming to help entities recover from the widespread outages caused by the CrowdStrike technical incident. We strongly encourage all consumers to source their technical information and updates from official CrowdStrike sources only. Read the full alert 👉 https://lnkd.in/gackpyuK

Policing agencies across Australia have joined forces in a National Day of Action, coordinated by the AFP-led Joint Policing Cybercrime Coordination Centre, to disrupt cyber criminals allegedly using SIM boxes to scam hundreds of Australians. SIM boxes are allegedly used by criminals to commit large-scale SMS phishing attacks known as ‘smishing’. Smishing is a malicious attack that uses deceptive text messages to deceive victims into downloading malware or sharing personal information. Members from the AFP, NSW Police Force, Western Australia Police Force, Tasmania Police, Queensland Police Service, and Victoria Police, worked together to execute six search warrants across a number of suburbs in New South Wales and Victoria. Police charged five people and seized multiple SIM boxes, cash, luxury watches, mobile phones, laptops, luxury vehicles and stolen identity documents. Learn how to protect yourself and your business from smishing attacks by visiting www.cyber.gov.au.