Liverpool counterterrorism arrest: Seven men released after Sydney police find insufficient evidence

Seven men detained in a dramatic counterterrorism operation on a Sydney street have been released without charge.

The group was arrested by heavily armed tactical response police under suspicion they were on their way to Bondi Beach from Melbourne to carry out a “violent act”.

However, the men were released about 1pm on Friday after NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon earlier conceded there was not enough evidence to lay charges.

As the men emerged from the Liverpool police station, some of the group were seen laughing, running through the streets and singing Locked Up by Akon.

Footage showed some of the men dropping to their knees and kissing the ground, with one man leaving barefoot.

Speaking to the media outside the police station, one of the men said they had been travelling to Sydney for a holiday and were heading towards their Airbnb when they were intercepted.

“Obviously everything that happened on that day at Bondi, now they wanna put that back on us,” he said.

“They wanna say every Muslim is like this.”

Another man, his head heavily bandaged, claimed the group had been targeted because of their religion and appearance.

“Mate we got thrown on the ground,” he said.

“My head got smashed, I was bleeding all over my head, they’re like ‘oh you bloody terrorist’.”

Asked whether he held extremist views, another replied: “Come on bro.”

When questioned about condemning the Bondi attack, he said “obviously”, adding the police operation was a “misunderstanding”.

One man with visible facial injuries alleged he was tasered twice and beaten while being detained in an alleyway.

“(I) was told I’d get shot in the head if I opened my eyes,” he said.

“I feel like they did what they did to show the public they’re cracking down.”

The Victorian-based group, aged between 19 and 24, were arrested on Thursday after travelling through Sydney’s southwest, prompting fears they could be heading towards Bondi Beach, just days after the deadly shooting.

Armed tactical police rammed the vehicles near the intersection of George and Campbell streets in Liverpool, triggering a heavy police response.

Vision circulated widely online showed officers in camouflage and helmets standing over the men, some of which were cable-tied and seated along a fence beside a vacant block.

A Hyundai i30 was left damaged at the scene, with its rear windscreen punctured by holes believed to have been caused by non-lethal bean bag rounds.

NSW Police had initially detained the men under special counterterrorism powers, after a magistrate approved an extended warrant allowing them to be held beyond the usual six-hour limit.

NSW’s top cop said the men would continue to be monitored while in the State.

Police confirmed no firearms were located during searches of the vehicles, although a knife was seized.

Mr Lanyon said the men had arrived from Victoria the day before the arrests and were already known to police in that State, with one reportedly on the radar of ASIO.

Authorities say they had received information the group may have been considering to commit a violent act at a number of locations, including Bondi Beach.

“The potential of a violent offence being committed was such that we were not prepared to tolerate the risk,” Mr Lanyon said.

Investigators are examining whether the men shared an ideological link to Islamic extremism, though police stressed their full intentions remain unclear.

Mr Lanyon said there was no confirmed connection to Sajid or Naveed Akram, the father-and-son gunmen involved in the Bondi massacre, despite homemade Islamic State flags being found in a vehicle registered to one of those offenders.

Deputy Police Commissioner Dave Hudson said concerns were elevated by intelligence assessments.

“That’s our belief at this stage,” he said when asked whether the group shared “a similar sort of ideological adherence to Islamic extremism”.

“One of the locations that we believe they may be attending was Bondi, and that caused us some concerns,” he said.

“I think the ideology that we’re talking about very much increases our perceptions of threat and risk in relation to this environment.”

Premier Chris Minns said the swift police response reflected the seriousness of the threat environment following the Bondi attack.

“(The police are) not mucking around and I don’t think anyone in NSW wants them to muck around,” he said.

Several nearby businesses, including a medical centre, were placed into lockdown on Thursday as the incident unfolded.