A 66-year-old Cooktown man has faced court this week as part of a nationwide counter-terrorism investigation.
Fronting the Cooktown Circuit Court yesterday, he has been charged with impersonating a Commonwealth public official and importing fake Australian Federal Police (AFP) badges.
470 police badges were found dumped in a Cairns creek in August last year.
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Following the discovery, a counter-terrorism team also conducted a search warrant of a Cairns house.
The ongoing investigation is being carried out by the AFP, Queensland Police Service and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation.
Police allege the Cooktown man was a member of a group involved in a fake video falsely claiming to be from the AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw.
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The video, which circulated through social media, revealed plans to overthrow the federal government.
AFP Assistant Commissioner Counter Terrorism Scott Lee said the AFP is continuing to investigate and this week’s arrest reflects the seriousness of the offences.
“While there is no evidence the group had the ability to carry out any specific violent acts, the AFP and its partners take all threats of this nature seriously,” Assistant Commissioner Lee said.
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As part of this investigation a Perth man was charged in August and a Peterborough women was charged in September.
It will be alleged the Cooktown man took delivery of a consignment of 500 counterfeit AFP badges from China – 470 of which were recovered in Cairns.
He has been granted bail and is next scheduled to appear in court on 13 July.
The maximum penalty for the alleged offences is two years’ imprisonment.
