Paola Totaro
March 24, 2009 - 10:40AM
An Australian man has been charged after a bomb hoax sparked an emergency evacuation of an Emirates flight at London's Gatwick Airport on Sunday.
Matthew Carney, 23, from Melbourne, was arrested after a note was discovered on board the flight from Dubai to London.
The note, found 10 minutes before the flight landed, allegedly suggested an explosive device was hidden on the plane.
The plane was carrying 184 passengers.
Explosive experts searched the luggage on board the plane while passengers were evacuated and interviewed by police.
Carney was charged with communicating information which was believed to be false and with the intention of inducing a false belief that an object liable to explode or ignite was present in the cargo of a plane, police said.
Carney entered no plea in court and was remanded in custody to appear again on Thursday.
This is the second incident involving Emirates in recent days.
The tail of an Airbus A40-500 touched the runway as it was taking off from Melbourne Airport about 10.30pm on Friday.
The plane, which carried more than 200 passengers, circled Port Phillip for about half an hour while fuel was dumped. The plane then made an emergency landing. No passengers were injured and the airline is investigating the incident.
Source
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Weapons smuggled on flight
Geoffrey Thomas
March 12, 2009
TWO boys have smuggled a stolen arsenal of handguns, knives and 3000 rounds of ammunition through two West Australian airports in one of the state's most serious breaches of airline security.
The boys, aged 11 and 14, packed the weapons in their checked-in luggage on a Qantas flight from Karratha to Perth on Monday night.
On arrival in Perth, they retrieved the baggage and checked in for a 10.55pm Jetstar flight to Cairns, where they were arrested after landing at 4.10am on Tuesday.
Qantas has admitted that "explosive trace detection" X-ray machines failed to pick up the ammunition.
The 14-year-old, who allegedly stole the weapons and ammunition from a shop in Karratha, has been charged and will face the Weipa Children's Court on Tuesday.
Federal police were tipped off about the theft by Karratha officers. They intercepted the boys and their luggage at Cairns airport where they were waiting to board a flight to Weipa.
Their baggage also contained a Ruger revolver, a .22-calibre pistol, 14 knives and other weapons.
The West Australian Police Minister, Rob Johnson, said: "If that is substantiated, I would certainly have some discussions with the minister and those people with responsibility for security at our airports."
A Qantas spokesman told The West Australian it was aware of the incident but there was "absolutely no flight security threat".
Because one of the boys was aged under 13, Qantas and Jetstar staff chaperoned the boys throughout their journey.
Source
March 12, 2009
TWO boys have smuggled a stolen arsenal of handguns, knives and 3000 rounds of ammunition through two West Australian airports in one of the state's most serious breaches of airline security.
The boys, aged 11 and 14, packed the weapons in their checked-in luggage on a Qantas flight from Karratha to Perth on Monday night.
On arrival in Perth, they retrieved the baggage and checked in for a 10.55pm Jetstar flight to Cairns, where they were arrested after landing at 4.10am on Tuesday.
Qantas has admitted that "explosive trace detection" X-ray machines failed to pick up the ammunition.
The 14-year-old, who allegedly stole the weapons and ammunition from a shop in Karratha, has been charged and will face the Weipa Children's Court on Tuesday.
Federal police were tipped off about the theft by Karratha officers. They intercepted the boys and their luggage at Cairns airport where they were waiting to board a flight to Weipa.
Their baggage also contained a Ruger revolver, a .22-calibre pistol, 14 knives and other weapons.
The West Australian Police Minister, Rob Johnson, said: "If that is substantiated, I would certainly have some discussions with the minister and those people with responsibility for security at our airports."
A Qantas spokesman told The West Australian it was aware of the incident but there was "absolutely no flight security threat".
Because one of the boys was aged under 13, Qantas and Jetstar staff chaperoned the boys throughout their journey.
Source
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Court OK with using covert evidence
Catharine Munro
March 5, 2009
THE High Court has approved the use of secret evidence in a surprise decision, provoking calls for a charter of rights to ensure fair trials.
In a decision that could pave the way for similar laws in NSW, the seven judges agreed unanimously that the South Australia Police could present secret criminal intelligence to a judge to stop a liquor licence being issued.
Constitutional lawyers and civil libertarians criticised the decision. "This is Alice in Wonderland stuff: you have the verdict and then the trial," said Cameron Murphy, the president of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties.
In 2005, Genargi Krasnov, a nightclub owner, failed to get a licence for a karaoke bar in Adelaide's central business district, even though his criminal record consisted only of traffic offences. Mr Krasnov went all the way to the High Court to challenge the powers of the South Australia Police after they gave criminal intelligence to the courts. He was not given the chance to see the police file or defend himself against it.
"I think it's a worrying decision," said the constitutional law expert Professor George Williams, of the University of NSW. "Normally judges are very jealous in guarding the concept of natural justice. They go out of their way to ensure people affected get all the information."
At Mr Krasnov's first appeal, in the Licensing Court of South Australia, Judge Paul Rice said he was working with "draconian" laws when he received secret evidence from witnesses. But the High Court disagreed.
The Chief Justice, Robert French, quoted Hansard to say that the laws were designed to stop the infiltration of organised crime into the liquor and hospitality industry because the current laws were not strong enough. He said the integrity of the court would not be weakened because judges could choose whether or not to accept police information.
But a senior barrister, who did not wish to be named, said judges did not have the resources to test police intelligence.
The decision, handed down last month, caught constitutional lawyers by surprise. Terry O'Gorman, the national president of the Australian Council for Civil Liberties, said prescribing the right to a fair trial in a bill of rights would prevent such laws.
Mr O'Gorman said: "This case highlights the necessity for a charter of rights." He said that even a lawyer for a suspected terrorist was allowed to see the evidence against the defendant when police apply for a controversial control order.
Source
March 5, 2009
THE High Court has approved the use of secret evidence in a surprise decision, provoking calls for a charter of rights to ensure fair trials.
In a decision that could pave the way for similar laws in NSW, the seven judges agreed unanimously that the South Australia Police could present secret criminal intelligence to a judge to stop a liquor licence being issued.
Constitutional lawyers and civil libertarians criticised the decision. "This is Alice in Wonderland stuff: you have the verdict and then the trial," said Cameron Murphy, the president of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties.
In 2005, Genargi Krasnov, a nightclub owner, failed to get a licence for a karaoke bar in Adelaide's central business district, even though his criminal record consisted only of traffic offences. Mr Krasnov went all the way to the High Court to challenge the powers of the South Australia Police after they gave criminal intelligence to the courts. He was not given the chance to see the police file or defend himself against it.
"I think it's a worrying decision," said the constitutional law expert Professor George Williams, of the University of NSW. "Normally judges are very jealous in guarding the concept of natural justice. They go out of their way to ensure people affected get all the information."
At Mr Krasnov's first appeal, in the Licensing Court of South Australia, Judge Paul Rice said he was working with "draconian" laws when he received secret evidence from witnesses. But the High Court disagreed.
The Chief Justice, Robert French, quoted Hansard to say that the laws were designed to stop the infiltration of organised crime into the liquor and hospitality industry because the current laws were not strong enough. He said the integrity of the court would not be weakened because judges could choose whether or not to accept police information.
But a senior barrister, who did not wish to be named, said judges did not have the resources to test police intelligence.
The decision, handed down last month, caught constitutional lawyers by surprise. Terry O'Gorman, the national president of the Australian Council for Civil Liberties, said prescribing the right to a fair trial in a bill of rights would prevent such laws.
Mr O'Gorman said: "This case highlights the necessity for a charter of rights." He said that even a lawyer for a suspected terrorist was allowed to see the evidence against the defendant when police apply for a controversial control order.
Source
Latest police weapon: a secret search
Geesche Jacobsen
Crime Editor
March 5, 2009
NEW powers to secretly search homes and computers of people suspected of crimes ranging from murder to organised theft are wider than those now used against suspected terrorists.
The new covert search warrants would give police up to three years to delay informing targets they had carried out a raid on their property.
Standard search warrants, routinely issued by magistrates in closed hearings, require police to inform the target at the start of the raid.
Figures obtained by the Herald show that last financial year lower courts issued about 6600 search warrants to NSW police and other law enforcement agencies - an average of 18 a day.
Only about 300 applications were refused.
The proposed covert laws became necessary after the Supreme Court found in 2007 that three covert searches on a children's author suspected of drug offences had been unlawful.
The Council for Civil Liberties and the Law Society warned that the new laws could lead to an abuse of police powers and restrict the rights of citizens.
But the Premier, Nathan Rees, said: "If you are a serious criminal you should be very anxious. We now will have the power to enter your home without you knowing and collect evidence for subsequent prosecutions."
The new powers are to cover indictable offences carrying a maximum seven-year prison term and involving drugs, firearms or explosives, money laundering and fraud, violence causing grievous bodily harm, murder, destruction of property, organised theft, corruption, kidnapping, sexual offences or computer crime.
The covert search warrants would be approved by designated Supreme Court judges, who must hold reasonable suspicions that evidence of the alleged offence is at the home, or will be there within 10 days, and that it is necessary to search without the resident knowing.
The new laws would allow officers to impersonate another person while executing the search warrant and "do anything that is reasonable" to conceal the covert raid. However, the judges also have to consider the target's privacy.
The president of the Law Society, Joe Catanzariti, said it opposed the concept of covert search warrants. "The requirement for notice of an intended search is an important safeguard and in its absence the potential for abuse is extreme.
"[It] seriously undermines the balance between the state's right to investigate and prosecute crime and the rights of individuals to carry out their proper business and lives without fear of intrusion by the state."
Stephen Blanks, the secretary of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties, said police had enough powers. "Police will be opening themselves up to allegations that they have planted evidence or tampered with evidence when they are conducting searches without any independent supervision," he said.
Powers granted for suspected terrorists were being extended, showing the need for a human rights bill, he argued.
The Police Minister, Tony Kelly, said the NSW laws would grant police up to seven days to examine data from computers, whereas federal laws, aimed at terrorists, grant only 72 hours.
The proposed laws provide for reports on covert search warrants to Parliament and the Ombudsman. Mr Blanks also called for oversight by a public interest monitor, as in Queensland.
The Police Association's vice-president, Sergeant Scott Weber, said the powers were "a much needed tool … in the fight against organised crime".
Source
Crime Editor
March 5, 2009
NEW powers to secretly search homes and computers of people suspected of crimes ranging from murder to organised theft are wider than those now used against suspected terrorists.
The new covert search warrants would give police up to three years to delay informing targets they had carried out a raid on their property.
Standard search warrants, routinely issued by magistrates in closed hearings, require police to inform the target at the start of the raid.
Figures obtained by the Herald show that last financial year lower courts issued about 6600 search warrants to NSW police and other law enforcement agencies - an average of 18 a day.
Only about 300 applications were refused.
The proposed covert laws became necessary after the Supreme Court found in 2007 that three covert searches on a children's author suspected of drug offences had been unlawful.
The Council for Civil Liberties and the Law Society warned that the new laws could lead to an abuse of police powers and restrict the rights of citizens.
But the Premier, Nathan Rees, said: "If you are a serious criminal you should be very anxious. We now will have the power to enter your home without you knowing and collect evidence for subsequent prosecutions."
The new powers are to cover indictable offences carrying a maximum seven-year prison term and involving drugs, firearms or explosives, money laundering and fraud, violence causing grievous bodily harm, murder, destruction of property, organised theft, corruption, kidnapping, sexual offences or computer crime.
The covert search warrants would be approved by designated Supreme Court judges, who must hold reasonable suspicions that evidence of the alleged offence is at the home, or will be there within 10 days, and that it is necessary to search without the resident knowing.
The new laws would allow officers to impersonate another person while executing the search warrant and "do anything that is reasonable" to conceal the covert raid. However, the judges also have to consider the target's privacy.
The president of the Law Society, Joe Catanzariti, said it opposed the concept of covert search warrants. "The requirement for notice of an intended search is an important safeguard and in its absence the potential for abuse is extreme.
"[It] seriously undermines the balance between the state's right to investigate and prosecute crime and the rights of individuals to carry out their proper business and lives without fear of intrusion by the state."
Stephen Blanks, the secretary of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties, said police had enough powers. "Police will be opening themselves up to allegations that they have planted evidence or tampered with evidence when they are conducting searches without any independent supervision," he said.
Powers granted for suspected terrorists were being extended, showing the need for a human rights bill, he argued.
The Police Minister, Tony Kelly, said the NSW laws would grant police up to seven days to examine data from computers, whereas federal laws, aimed at terrorists, grant only 72 hours.
The proposed laws provide for reports on covert search warrants to Parliament and the Ombudsman. Mr Blanks also called for oversight by a public interest monitor, as in Queensland.
The Police Association's vice-president, Sergeant Scott Weber, said the powers were "a much needed tool … in the fight against organised crime".
Source
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Seven Vic terrorists sent to jail
February 3, 2009, 4:08 pm
Australia's first convicted terrorist leader has been jailed for at least 12 years.
Abdul Nacer Benbrika, who led a Melbourne terror cell that talked about attacking city landmarks and killing women and children, was sentenced in the Victorian Supreme Court on Tuesday.
Six of his followers from Melbourne's northern and western suburbs also received prison terms.
Justice Bernard Bongiorno told the court that Benbrika, 48, of the Melbourne suburb of Dallas, had not renounced his beliefs.
"All the evidence points to the conclusion that he maintains his position with respect to violent jihad," he said.
Justice Bongiorno said terrorist acts in modern times were carried out by unskilled fanatics like Benbrika and there was a need to protect society from criminals of his type.
Benbrika, a father of seven, was sentenced to a total of 27 years on three charges, including 15 years for intentionally directing the activities of a terrorist organisation.
He was sentenced to seven years for intentionally being a member of a terrorist organisation and five years for possessing a CD connected with the preparation of a terrorist act.
He will serve the terms concurrently.
In a sentencing that lasted more than two hours, Justice Bongiorno also said many of Benbrika's followers had not renounced the group's extremist beliefs.
Aimen Joud, 24, of Hoppers Crossing, has been jailed for a minimum of seven-and-a-half years.
Abdullah Merhi, 23, of Fawkner, must serve a minimum of four years in prison.
Ahmed Raad, 25, of Fawkner, will be required to serve a minimum of seven-and-a-half years.
Amer Haddara, 29, of Yarraville, was sentenced to a minimum of four-and-a-half years.
Fadl Sayadi, 29, of Coburg, was sentenced to a minimum of six years prison and Ezzit Raad, 27, from Preston, must serve five years and nine months.
Justice Bongiorno said the group often referred to themselves as Mujahideen and talked about destroying buildings and killing infidels.
Benbrika and his followers were found guilty in September 2008 after a trial which lasted eight months.
Joud, convicted on four terror charges, was regarded as the heir apparent to Benbrika, had showed an impatience that the group was not progressing in its aim of jihad more quickly.
"Joud undoubtedly took a leadership role," Justice Bongiorno said.
"There is no evidence before the court that he has abandoned his belief in violent jihad ... there is no evidence at all that he has resiled from being a would-be terrorist."
Joud was convicted on providing resources and making funds available to a terrorist organisation, being a member of a terrorist organisation and possessing a CD connected with the preparation of a terrorist act.
The men had been in custody since November 2005 when they were arrested during raids in Melbourne's northern and western suburbs.
The trial heard from more than 50 witnesses and was played thousands of hours of listening device material and telephone intercepts.
Jurors heard Benbrika had told his followers it was "permissible to kill women, children and the aged" and that the group needed to kill at least 1,000 non-believers to make the Australian government withdraw soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan .
Sayadi was an organiser in the group and gave advice on how to access jihadi websites, the court heard.
The judge said Sayadi has not in any way moderated or changed his extremist views.
Justice Bongiorno also said letters tendered on behalf of Merhi that demonstrated he was now opposed to killing innocent people could not be accepted because they were not properly tested by him giving evidence.
Ahmed Raad, who turned to Benbrika's religious instruction after the death of his brother, was effectively the treasurer of the group, the court heard.
Justice Bongiorno accepted that Ezzit Raad was less involved than other members of the group.
Haddara was only convicted of being a member of the organisation.
Justice Bongiorno said the evidence of a plot to blow up the MCG would not be taken into account because the man who gave the evidence, Izzydeen Atik, was a liar and a fraudster.
Source
Australia's first convicted terrorist leader has been jailed for at least 12 years.
Abdul Nacer Benbrika, who led a Melbourne terror cell that talked about attacking city landmarks and killing women and children, was sentenced in the Victorian Supreme Court on Tuesday.
Six of his followers from Melbourne's northern and western suburbs also received prison terms.
Justice Bernard Bongiorno told the court that Benbrika, 48, of the Melbourne suburb of Dallas, had not renounced his beliefs.
"All the evidence points to the conclusion that he maintains his position with respect to violent jihad," he said.
Justice Bongiorno said terrorist acts in modern times were carried out by unskilled fanatics like Benbrika and there was a need to protect society from criminals of his type.
Benbrika, a father of seven, was sentenced to a total of 27 years on three charges, including 15 years for intentionally directing the activities of a terrorist organisation.
He was sentenced to seven years for intentionally being a member of a terrorist organisation and five years for possessing a CD connected with the preparation of a terrorist act.
He will serve the terms concurrently.
In a sentencing that lasted more than two hours, Justice Bongiorno also said many of Benbrika's followers had not renounced the group's extremist beliefs.
Aimen Joud, 24, of Hoppers Crossing, has been jailed for a minimum of seven-and-a-half years.
Abdullah Merhi, 23, of Fawkner, must serve a minimum of four years in prison.
Ahmed Raad, 25, of Fawkner, will be required to serve a minimum of seven-and-a-half years.
Amer Haddara, 29, of Yarraville, was sentenced to a minimum of four-and-a-half years.
Fadl Sayadi, 29, of Coburg, was sentenced to a minimum of six years prison and Ezzit Raad, 27, from Preston, must serve five years and nine months.
Justice Bongiorno said the group often referred to themselves as Mujahideen and talked about destroying buildings and killing infidels.
Benbrika and his followers were found guilty in September 2008 after a trial which lasted eight months.
Joud, convicted on four terror charges, was regarded as the heir apparent to Benbrika, had showed an impatience that the group was not progressing in its aim of jihad more quickly.
"Joud undoubtedly took a leadership role," Justice Bongiorno said.
"There is no evidence before the court that he has abandoned his belief in violent jihad ... there is no evidence at all that he has resiled from being a would-be terrorist."
Joud was convicted on providing resources and making funds available to a terrorist organisation, being a member of a terrorist organisation and possessing a CD connected with the preparation of a terrorist act.
The men had been in custody since November 2005 when they were arrested during raids in Melbourne's northern and western suburbs.
The trial heard from more than 50 witnesses and was played thousands of hours of listening device material and telephone intercepts.
Jurors heard Benbrika had told his followers it was "permissible to kill women, children and the aged" and that the group needed to kill at least 1,000 non-believers to make the Australian government withdraw soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan .
Sayadi was an organiser in the group and gave advice on how to access jihadi websites, the court heard.
The judge said Sayadi has not in any way moderated or changed his extremist views.
Justice Bongiorno also said letters tendered on behalf of Merhi that demonstrated he was now opposed to killing innocent people could not be accepted because they were not properly tested by him giving evidence.
Ahmed Raad, who turned to Benbrika's religious instruction after the death of his brother, was effectively the treasurer of the group, the court heard.
Justice Bongiorno accepted that Ezzit Raad was less involved than other members of the group.
Haddara was only convicted of being a member of the organisation.
Justice Bongiorno said the evidence of a plot to blow up the MCG would not be taken into account because the man who gave the evidence, Izzydeen Atik, was a liar and a fraudster.
Source
Thursday, December 11, 2008
'Green terrorist' apology
December 11, 2008
POLICE have been forced to apologise for mounting an anti-terrorism exercise in which a forest campaigner hijacked an aircraft and threatened to crash it into a pulp mill in Tasmania.
Heavily armed police responded to the "hijack" at Devonport Airport, and a threat to the nearby Wesley Vale mill in the exercise on Tuesday.
It came at a time of deep community division over plans for the $2.2 billion Gunns pulp mill in the Tamar Valley, and followed a recent incident in which forest protesters' vehicles were beaten with a sledgehammer and firebombed.
Wilderness Society campaigner Vica Bayley said forest campaigners had shown absolute adherence to the concepts of peaceful community protest.
Tasmania Police acting Assistant Commissioner Steve Bonde apologised to those offended by the scenario.
"We deliberately draw up a scenario unconnected with events in history, unconnected with current events, or what police expect in the future," he said.
ANDREW DARBY
Source
POLICE have been forced to apologise for mounting an anti-terrorism exercise in which a forest campaigner hijacked an aircraft and threatened to crash it into a pulp mill in Tasmania.
Heavily armed police responded to the "hijack" at Devonport Airport, and a threat to the nearby Wesley Vale mill in the exercise on Tuesday.
It came at a time of deep community division over plans for the $2.2 billion Gunns pulp mill in the Tamar Valley, and followed a recent incident in which forest protesters' vehicles were beaten with a sledgehammer and firebombed.
Wilderness Society campaigner Vica Bayley said forest campaigners had shown absolute adherence to the concepts of peaceful community protest.
Tasmania Police acting Assistant Commissioner Steve Bonde apologised to those offended by the scenario.
"We deliberately draw up a scenario unconnected with events in history, unconnected with current events, or what police expect in the future," he said.
ANDREW DARBY
Source
Second man held over police station firebombings
Nicolas Perpitch December 11, 2008
Article from: The Australian
POLICE arrested a second man last night after a spate of brazen firebomb attacks on Perth police stations forced Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan to suggest security officers would be engaged to protect his officers.
Ryan Thomas Jones, 27, of Heathridge in Perth's northern suburbs, was taken into custody about 9pm after detectives released a mugshot of him earlier in the day.
An alleged accomplice, Craig Meyrick, 31, also of Heathridge, was arrested hours earlier after police raided a house and seized a Toyota four-wheel-drive vehicle.
The two attacks, which took place at separate police stations over a 28-hour period, have rattled the force to a state not seen since a battle between bikies in 2001 culminated in the bombing assassination of former CIB chief Don Hancock.
Police sources last night confirmed that Mr Jones had been arrested without incident, and at the time of going to press had yet to be interviewed or charged.
Mr Meyrick has been charged with two counts of criminal damage by fire over the attack at the Joondalup police station. He will appear in Perth Magistrates Court today.
A Landcruiser seized from Mr Meyrick's Heathridge house earlier in the day was being forensically examined to see if it was involved in the bombings.
In the second attack in a little over 24 hours, two cars owned by on-duty officers at the Warwick police station were firebombed. Police believe an attacker would easily have been able to jump the fence of the station's unguarded back parking lot.
In the Joondalup attack on Monday night, a Holden Rodeo ute was carefully backed up past defensive bollards to the front entrance of the station and a 220litre fuel tank on the tray was set alight.
The explosion and subsequent fire gutted the foyer and reached the top floor of the Reid Promenade complex, as well as adjoining offices, causing an estimated $500,000 worth of damage.
None of the 12 officers inside was injured. None saw the attack because they were in another part of the building.
Mr O'Callaghan said the firebombings were attacks on his police officers and on the whole community. "It's an attack on society, it's an attack on freedom, it's an attack on democracy," he said. "And we do need to make sure our police officers are adequately protected and provided for so they can do their jobs."
Premier Colin Barnett said he hoped the firebombings were "a random event rather than something that may be more systematic or sinister".
Detectives have refused to comment on the attacks, but admitted they could have been more than a coincidence.
"At this stage, there's no link between the two offences, apart (from) they are both the same offence -- that is, damage by fire," Detective Senior Sergeant John Hutchison said. "It's possible, but at this stage it appears it is unlikely."
Police were investigating the possibility of a copycat crime, Sergeant Hutchison said. "There's no suggestion whatsoever they're targeting any individual police officer. At this stage, our information is they were just targeting the police."
He would not say whether Mr Jones had any previous involvement with the Joondalup station or police generally.
WA Police Union president Mike Dean said he had been urging WA Police for years to improve security at stations.
"I've written numerous letters about security for private vehicles," he said.
Hancock and his friend Lou Lewis were killed in a car bomb attack carried out by a bikie gang member in 2001. The feud between police and the bikies centred on the October 2000 shooting of gang member Billy Grierson, which many bikies blamed on the CIB boss, who had retired from the force and was running an outback pub.
Source
Article from: The Australian
POLICE arrested a second man last night after a spate of brazen firebomb attacks on Perth police stations forced Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan to suggest security officers would be engaged to protect his officers.
Ryan Thomas Jones, 27, of Heathridge in Perth's northern suburbs, was taken into custody about 9pm after detectives released a mugshot of him earlier in the day.
An alleged accomplice, Craig Meyrick, 31, also of Heathridge, was arrested hours earlier after police raided a house and seized a Toyota four-wheel-drive vehicle.
The two attacks, which took place at separate police stations over a 28-hour period, have rattled the force to a state not seen since a battle between bikies in 2001 culminated in the bombing assassination of former CIB chief Don Hancock.
Police sources last night confirmed that Mr Jones had been arrested without incident, and at the time of going to press had yet to be interviewed or charged.
Mr Meyrick has been charged with two counts of criminal damage by fire over the attack at the Joondalup police station. He will appear in Perth Magistrates Court today.
A Landcruiser seized from Mr Meyrick's Heathridge house earlier in the day was being forensically examined to see if it was involved in the bombings.
In the second attack in a little over 24 hours, two cars owned by on-duty officers at the Warwick police station were firebombed. Police believe an attacker would easily have been able to jump the fence of the station's unguarded back parking lot.
In the Joondalup attack on Monday night, a Holden Rodeo ute was carefully backed up past defensive bollards to the front entrance of the station and a 220litre fuel tank on the tray was set alight.
The explosion and subsequent fire gutted the foyer and reached the top floor of the Reid Promenade complex, as well as adjoining offices, causing an estimated $500,000 worth of damage.
None of the 12 officers inside was injured. None saw the attack because they were in another part of the building.
Mr O'Callaghan said the firebombings were attacks on his police officers and on the whole community. "It's an attack on society, it's an attack on freedom, it's an attack on democracy," he said. "And we do need to make sure our police officers are adequately protected and provided for so they can do their jobs."
Premier Colin Barnett said he hoped the firebombings were "a random event rather than something that may be more systematic or sinister".
Detectives have refused to comment on the attacks, but admitted they could have been more than a coincidence.
"At this stage, there's no link between the two offences, apart (from) they are both the same offence -- that is, damage by fire," Detective Senior Sergeant John Hutchison said. "It's possible, but at this stage it appears it is unlikely."
Police were investigating the possibility of a copycat crime, Sergeant Hutchison said. "There's no suggestion whatsoever they're targeting any individual police officer. At this stage, our information is they were just targeting the police."
He would not say whether Mr Jones had any previous involvement with the Joondalup station or police generally.
WA Police Union president Mike Dean said he had been urging WA Police for years to improve security at stations.
"I've written numerous letters about security for private vehicles," he said.
Hancock and his friend Lou Lewis were killed in a car bomb attack carried out by a bikie gang member in 2001. The feud between police and the bikies centred on the October 2000 shooting of gang member Billy Grierson, which many bikies blamed on the CIB boss, who had retired from the force and was running an outback pub.
Source
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