As early as 2019, Australia’s top intelligence agency identified the alleged Bondi attackers as possible threats. However, because to a number of systems flaws, the brothers were able to get through known extremist pathways without any opposition.
Prior to the publication of writer Sharri Markson’s new book, Bondi Terror, The Daily Telegraph revealed that in the years preceding the deadly December attack, father and son Sajid and Naveed Akram allegedly slipped past glaring gaps in national security.
A disastrous breakdown in intelligence sharing was the cause of the failures.
Key agencies were allegedly kept in the dark by the Australian Federal Police and Border Force’s failure to notify ASIO or NSW Police that the Akrams had visited areas linked to extremist activities.
Investigators subsequently verified that the two had visited Uzbekistan in late 2022 or early 2023, which is commonly considered a gateway to Afghanistan and other war areas.
However, the trip did not result in the heightened inspection that experts had previously demanded, despite years of warnings about such routes.
In 2019, ASIO had previously examined Naveed Akram and conducted many interviews with his father, Sajid.
Although the CIA discovered that Naveed had connections to people of concern, it concluded that neither man at the time qualified as a violent extremist.
The passports that the Akrams (seen) used to enter terror hotspots
Prior to the Bondi attack, the Akram family visited several locations with ties to the Islamic state.
But ASIO’s evaluation included a clear warning: the Akrams’ case should be reviewed and reexamined if they appeared among “persons of interest” once more.
Bondi Terror claims that reevaluation never took place.
The first evaluation was approved at the ASIO mid-level and never made it to senior review.
Later, information from Australia’s intelligence allies, such as the US and Israel, surfaced indicating that the brothers had purportedly attempted, albeit apparently unsuccessfully, to walk from Uzbekistan to Afghanistan.
In the years preceding the attack, they also made trips to Saudi Arabia, which may have been for justifiable religious purposes, such as a pilgrimage to Mecca.
However, the months prior to the attack were when the biggest mistakes were made.
Just one month prior to the attack, Border Force and the AFP are said to have flagged not only the earlier travel to Uzbekistan but also a trip to Mindanao in the southern Philippines, a region infamous for terror ties.
The information was purportedly never shared with ASIO or NSW Police despite these obvious warnings.
The Akram family stayed at the GV Hotel in Davao while traveling to Mindanao, the region where ISIS is active (file).
The ABF and AFP are accused of failing to provide ASIO with information regarding the Akram family.
The highest echelons of government are currently facing concerns that are echoed by the Bondi Terror disclosures.
While important measures are still hidden from the public, the Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion’s interim report found serious flaws in Australia’s tracking and sharing of information on high-risk travelers.
According to the research, rather than having a single, well-coordinated intelligence network, Home Affairs, through Australian Border Force, relies on a number of travel alert systems that are holdovers from before the ABF was created, resulting in a disjointed and uneven web.
It advised the government to combine alarm systems whenever possible and cautioned that this lack of integration could impede or even delay crucial, time-sensitive intelligence.
The report does not, however, go into depth about potential modifications. Its most sensitive conclusions are still classified, including any changes to the way Border Force manages travel alerts.
Additionally, the Commission has brought attention to persistent problems with intelligence sharing between various security levels.
Agencies are unable to swiftly and securely communicate information without comparable systems and adequate approvals.
In this portion of the study, four suggestions have been completely deleted.
