A mobile phone used by the alleged Bondi Beach gunmen is believed to have pinged twice near a region in the Philippines used to train Islamic State terrorists.
Naveed Akram, 24, travelled to the Philippines in November with his father Sajid, 50, one month before they allegedly opened fire at a Hanukkah by the Sea event at Bondi Beach, killing 15 and injuring many more.
Sajid was killed by police gunfire in the attack. Naveed remains in custody and is facing 59 charges, including 15 counts of murder.
The reason for the four-week trip to southeast Asia is still being investigated by officers from the Australian Federal Police and the Philippines National Police.
However it has now been revealed a phone the Akrams were using was detected in M’Lang in North Cotabato – a province that borders the region’s notorious terror training camps.
‘We have also received information they [used a] cell phone in other areas of Mindanao. I think they were twice detected in other areas,’ a police source told the ABC.
The Akrams stayed in Davao City on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao, repeatedly extending their stay from a week to 28 days at the GV Hotel – a $24-a-night, one-star hotel located in a red-light district.
Immigration photos shows one of the alleged Bondi gunmen, Naveed Akram, arriving in Manila
His father Sajid travelled to the Philippines on an Indian passport (pictured in immigration)
Experts say the week-to-week cash payments raise suspicions they were meeting extremists – and possibly training.
Despite hotel staff claiming the Akrams barely left their room, CCTV footage has now captured the moment Naveed was spotted on the street in Davao.
The ABC reports the gunmen visited a gun shop in Davao.
While it remains unknown if the gunmen purchased any supplies, it’s believed the pair visited a local outlet of Shooters Guns & Ammo Corp – the largest gun retail franchise in the Philippines.
‘They went to the gun store… the father was just looking around inside the store. They only visited there,’ the police source said.
The father and son also visited the Seagull White Sand Beach Resort – about 7.5km away from their hotel – as well as an RCBC bank ATM.
It was previously revealed the Akrams met with a number of Islamic leaders during their trip, including one which was captured on CCTV.
They are believed to have left the hotel for around eight hours to travel to the nearby coastal city of Panabo, about an hour’s drive north from Davao.
It’s believed the pair visited a local gun outlet of the Shooters Funs & Ammo Corp (stock image)
Sajid and Naveed stayed in Davao – a five-hour drive from the infamous ISIS training camps near Lanao Del Sur
A source close to the investigation told Daily Mail: ‘It is now thought that the father and son went out of Davao City to the nearest border in Panabo to meet some Muslim religious leaders.
‘This raises more questions on what they were doing in Mindanao.’
The identities and affiliations of the ‘religious leaders’ they met remain unclear.
The southern Philippine island has long been a global terrorism hotspot, with militant groups exploiting its remote, mountainous terrain.
North Cotabato, where police said the gunmen’s phone was detected, sits between Davao and these regions.
Years before Islamic State East Asia took control in 2017, Abu Sayyaf was already using these remote areas to train new recruits.
Australian security experts fear the pair may have sought ‘military-style’ training, but Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has rejected those claims.
