(Age) Three men who planned to shoot and kill innocent members of the public were unlikely to have plotted a terror attack if not for the inducement of a covert police operative, a judge has ruled.
However, brothers Ertunc and Samed Eriklioglu and their friend, Hanifi Halis, became “willing participants” in a plan to buy a .22 semi-automatic assault rifle so they could shoot people to advance their belief in extreme Islam, the Supreme Court of Victoria heard on Tuesday.
Judge Michael O’Connell jailed Ertunc Eriklioglu, 33, Samed Eriklioglu, 28, and Halis, 24, for 10 years after they each pleaded guilty to conspiring to do acts in preparation for, or planning, a terrorist act. The charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.
