A 19-year-old Sydney man, suspected to have jihadist ties, last week slipped out of Australia on a flight to the Middle East using his brother’s passport.
The unnamed man was however detained on arrival in the United Arab Emirates and deported back to Australia.
This is the second security breach in just a few months after convicted tourist Khaled Sharrouf left the country in December 2013 using a similar technique to fight with the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. Sydney-born Sharrouf was banned from leaving the country by the Australian government because of his terrorist ties. He is also the man behind the Twitter photos apparently showing his seven-year-old son clutching the severed head of a Syrian soldier that shocked the world last week.
This latest incident is embarrassing for Australia as the federal government, along with the USA, will in September appeal the United Nations member countries to cooperate in preventing militants from travelling to Iraq and Syria to fight with Islamic State terrorists.
Tony Abbott said on Friday the fact that the unnamed man had cleared immigration at Sydney airport raised alarm bells.
“While this person did get out of Australia, he wasn’t able to make his way to the ISIL battle front, so that’s a little bit better than the previous occasion,” Abbott told reporters, adding, “But it’s not good enough.”
The Australian government has a four-year plan to invest AUD$630 million on improving law enforcement and border protection. The plan would also include biometric screening.
The 19-year-old suspect appeared in a Sydney court on Wednesday this week charged with using an Australian passport that was not his own. He remains in custody.