Australia's Largest Terrorist Plot - The Targeted Violence Podcast - Epsiode 14 with Peter Moroney

In this episode of the Targeted Violence Podcast, we sit down with former New South Wales Police Detective Sergeant Peter Moroney to explore one of Australia’s most significant counterterrorism investigations—Operation Pendennis.Spanning several years and involving an unprecedented level of coordination between agencies, Operation Pendennis was a joint counterterrorism effort between the New South Wales Police, Victoria Police, Australian Federal Police, and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation. The investigation ultimately led to a series of coordinated raids across Victoria and New South Wales in November 2005, targeting networks believed to be planning mass-casualty terrorist attacks.The scale and seriousness of the threat reached the highest levels of government. Then Prime Minister John Howard was briefed, and Parliament was recalled to pass urgent counterterrorism legislation in anticipation of the operation and the arrests that would follow.On the ground, the operation was both complex and dangerous. More than 20 warrants were executed across two states, resulting in multiple arrests. In one instance, a suspect engaged in a shootout with police during the raids. The investigation uncovered a range of concerning behaviours consistent with attack planning, including coded phone communications, firearms training at a rural property, surveillance of potential targets, and the stockpiling of materials—thousands of litres of chemicals, along with significant quantities of batteries and clocks—suggestive of explosive device preparation.A central figure in the investigation was Abdul Nacer Benbrika, who was identified as the ideological leader of the Melbourne-based group. In New South Wales, police arrested nine individuals—each of whom was ultimately convicted for their role in the conspiracy to commit a terrorist act.Peter played a key role in this operation, and over the course of six years, he was deeply embedded in the investigation, working to identify, disrupt, and ultimately help convict those involved.Peter spent 17 years with New South Wales Police, retiring as a Detective Sergeant. In this conversation, he provides a rare, firsthand account of the operational realities behind a major counterterrorism investigation—offering insight into the investigative strategies, the pressures of working high-risk operations, and what it takes to prevent acts of targeted violence before they occur. Since leaving the police, Peter has published a book, Terrorism in Australia: The Story of Operation Pendennis. He is also the Director at Nemesis Consultancy Group.