Hermans said the investigation into the three men related to a fire on 18 February in bushland about 30 minutes’ drive north of Epping, as well as an assault on an individual in metropolitan Melbourne on 10 March.
Hermans said police believed the incidents might have been motivated by an “ideology based on religious extremism”, and that officers had acted on the basis that the “risk profile” of the men was “increasing”.
“It is Islamic [in] motivation,” he said. “But let me be very clear: we target the crime, not the ideology.”
Because charges have yet to be laid, police were reluctant to divulge details of the allegations likely to be made against the men, but said they believed the incidents might have been motivated by “religious extremism”.
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