Australian police have arrested a 20-year-old man and a 16-year-old girl in suburban Sydney on suspicion of transferring money overseas to fund ISIS.
New South Wales Police Force Deputy Commissioner Catherine Burn told reporters Tuesday that the two — their identities withheld — were obtaining money and sending it to ISIS to assist with the terror organization’s activities. Their charge — financing terrorism — potentially carries a maximum of 25 years in prison, according to Burn.
The charge will be formally announced when the two suspects appear in court. Burn didn’t specify how the money was raised but added that there are a number of people involved in similar activities in the country, which the police are investigating.
Police arrested them in Guildford, west of Sydney, as part of an ongoing counter-terror operation, Burn said.
She said the 20-year-old man has been on the police’s radar for some time, while the teenage girl — who is still in school — is “not somebody well known” to them.
Burn says the police will continue to look into the girl’s history, adding that there is a growing trend of teenagers becoming involved in terrorist activities.
She said there is no specific new threat in the country.
