A gang of Islamic extremists are terrorising staff at a Victorian detention centre.
Sources have told the Herald Sun six men from Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq have been radicalised and are increasingly showing aggression towards other detainees and staff.
A spokesman for Immigration Minister Scott Morrison confirmed several staff were allegedly assaulted, receiving minor injuries, during a disturbance at the Maribyrnong Immigration Detention Centre on August 21.
But the spokesman denied the incident was religiously motivated.
“The Minister is advised there is no suggestion this incident was religious or politically motivated behaviour and there is no evidence suggesting increasing religious tensions in Victorian detention facilities,” the spokesman said.
“The department and contracted service providers manage all incidents in immigration detention in accordance with standard incident management procedures and duty of care obligations to detainees and staff.”
He said allegations of criminal conduct in immigration detention facilities were referred to police for investigation.
On Thursday, the group’s leader — a violent thug who was deported from South Australia for criminal activity — went on a rampage in Maribyrnong Immigration Detention Centre.
He allegedly punched a male staff member in the face and hit another in the head before six guards subdued him and placed him in handcuffs.
The man allegedly lashed out again, while being escorted to isolation, by wrapping his cuffs around a guard’s neck.
Staff negotiated for 20 minutes before the officer was eventually released unharmed.
The group is known for its anti-Western stance and several staff said radical views were on the rise in centres across Australia in recent months.
Muslim community elders have visited the Maribyrnong centre in a bid to guide detainees away from extremism, however an insider told the Herald Sun the move failed and actually increased tensions between Sunni and Shiites being held there.
“The Shiites are scared. This is a cultural divide that goes back years but it is changing,” a source said.
“It would scare you to hear what some of them say against Westerners.”
Other staff confirmed detention centres were rife with weapons, including sharpened tooth brushes and makeshift knives.
“We are finding a lot more weapons that we have never found before. This stuff is found in prisons, not (usually) here.
“They are arming up for something. It seems to be an Islamic thing against the Westerners.
“If it continues, someone is going to get a hole in them.”
The detention centre security provider, Serco, did not respond to calls by the Herald Sun.