Police said on Friday that Amin Mohamed prepared to go to Syria last September ''with intent to engage … in armed hostilities.'' According to his charge sheet, he allegedly obtained a mobile phone number under a false name and applied for a New Zealand passport to enter Syria.

He also purchased a plane ticket to Istanbul, Turkey and obtained contact details of a handler in Turkey identified as Mohammed Ali Baryalei, also known as Abu Omar, to help him travel to Syria.

It is believed the New Zealand passport was cancelled, which led to him being sent to Villawood Immigration Detention Center. Federal police then discovered the alleged offences from Victoria state in the south-east of Australia.

Mohamed has been charged with four counts of preparing to commit an offence under the Crimes (Foreign Incursions and Recruitment) Act 1978. The crime carries a maximum penalty of 20-year imprisonment.

He may be transferred to Maribyrnong Immigration Transit Accommodation, his state-appointed lawyer Paul Jansen said.
Mohamed will next appear in court on July 21.

Australian Security and Intelligence Organization director-general David Irvine told a Senate estimates hearing on Thursday that as many as 12 Australians had died fighting in Syria. Most were young men, including several from Melbourne.

He said nearly 150 Australian citizens were being monitored for fighting or planning to fight in foreign conflicts. He said ASIO had cancelled the passports of people suspected of supporting the recruitment of foreign fighters for Syria.

A British defense study showed that about 100,000 militants, fragmented into 1,000 groups, are fighting in Syria against the government and its people.

NTJ/MB