Overseas and local criminals are suspected of working together to firebomb a synagogue, as police arrested one of three men they allege carried out the arson attack.
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See subscription optionsA 21-year-old Werribee man who is known to police was arrested in Melbourne's west during one of multiple search warrants carried out around the city on Wednesday.
Two buildings belonging to the Adass Israel synagogue at Ripponlea in Melbourne's southeast were destroyed in December 2024, with the fire attack forcing two congregants inside preparing for morning prayers to flee for their lives.
The man is yet to be charged but Australian Federal Police Deputy Commissioner Krissy Barrett told reporters no offence was "off the table" and she expected more people to be arrested in the future.
She said the complex investigation included exploring the involvement of offshore criminals, who are suspected of working with associates in Victoria to carry out the "politically motivated attack".
"The motivation is still being assessed and we will make further comments at an appropriate time about that," Dept Comm Barrett said.
An AFP officer involved with the 21-year-old's arrest is in hospital after being bitten by an unrestrained dog, which was since been euthanised.
Members of the Five Eyes as well as other international partners have been involved in the probe.
The deputy commissioner said Kazem Hamad, an overseas-based convicted drug trafficker, had "come up in our investigation" and remained an ongoing line of inquiry but did not go into further details.
Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Wendy Steendam said there was no evidence to suggest any links between the Adass Israel synagogue fire and a long-running criminal war over illegal tobacco or a separate fire at an East Melbourne synagogue.
She also ruled out a connection to the discovery of a caravan in Sydney with explosives and a list of addresses of Jewish people, which was later determined to be hoax.
"I want to reassure Victorians, particularly those in the Jewish community, that we remain relentless in our pursuit in finding all those responsible for this crime and holding them to account," Deputy Commissioner Steendam said.
Police executed seven search warrants across Melbourne on Wednesday, seizing various items including electronic devices which will be forensically examined.
In July, a 20-year-old man was arrested over his alleged role in stealing a car linked to several high profile incidents, including the Ripponlea synagogue fire.
There had been mounting pressure for police to make further arrests, with CCTV footage released by counter-terror police showing three people in hoodies getting out of a car before using an axe to damage the synagogue's entrance.
Investigators have urged anyone with further information about the car to come forward immediately.
Executive Council of Australian Jewry president Daniel Aghion thanked police for their painstaking efforts and hoped further arrests would be made so that all offenders, including the masterminds, were swiftly brought to justice.
"Only then will a deterrent be established against this sort of chilling behaviour."
Australian Associated Press
