Abdul Nacer Benbrika

Abdul Nacer Benbrika, Algerian-born, led a Melbourne-based terror cell arrested in November 2005 in Operation Pendennis; prosecutors alleged targets including the MCG and Crown Casino. In 2008 he was convicted of directing a terrorist organisation. After nearly two decades in prison he was released in December 2023 on an extended supervision order (ABC, SBS); the MCG and Crown Casino issued him lifetime bans. A court judgment reported by the ABC in May 2025 found that he met Bankstown preacher Wissam Haddad in December 2024 and afterwards made arrangements to help fund Haddad's legal battle against the Executive Council of Australian Jewry. In December 2024 the court extended his supervision order, requiring him to keep taking part in a deradicalisation program (ABC).