Melbourne: Heavily-armed police on Tuesday seized
a "substantial" stockpile of explosives in a raid on a house
north of Melbourne, but ruled out any religious or racial
connections.
A 32-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of possessing
items used to make bombs after arson and explosives squad
detectives, together with the Special Operations Group,
executed a search warrant at the house in Castlemaine.
"We were aware he was obtaining explosives through
various means. There are precursors, not particularly for
fertilisers, but for other chemicals he has obtained,"
Detective Senior Sergeant Jeff Maher told the Herald-Sun
newspaper.
"There are also commercially available explosives as
well. We are talking about a fairly substantial quantity.
"I can`t go into the wheres and what-fors as to where he
is obtaining it. We believe it is not racially, religiously or
politically motivated."
Local reports said police were acting on a tip-off and
evacuated neighbours before a bomb squad robot was used to
enter the man`s home.
A friend of the arrested man told the Melbourne Age
newspaper he had a fascination with firearms and explosives.
"He`s always been into guns, knives, bullets and all that
stuff," the man, who declined to give his name, said. "He
knows a lot about guns and explosives."
The friend said the man, who is expected to be charged
later today, was originally from England.
PTI
