Arrest made in plot to bomb Australian
nuclear reactor

April 23, 2004

Sydney Australia-- Police arrested an Australian man accused of planning a terrorist act and having links to a French terror suspect implicated in a plot to attack a nuclear reactor on Sydney's outskirts, a top police official said.

Lodhi Faheem, 34, was charged in Sydney's Central Local Court with seven offenses, including preparing for a terrorist act and recruiting for a terrorist organization, Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty said.

The case stemmed from a terrorism investigation of Willie Virgile Brigitte, a 35 -year-old French man who was extradited from Australia to France in October, Keelty said.

Faheem, of Pakistani origin was denied bail.

Faheem is the second person to face charges under tough new terrorist laws in Australia and faces a maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted.