MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th August, 2020) Australian police have charged eight people over a homemade bomb explosion in a superb of capital city Sydney, which left a woman injured, the New South Wales (NSW) Police Force said in a press release on Thursday.
The incident took place on Robert Street in Canterbury in early June. The 55-year-old woman noticed a fire on her front balcony. When she went outside and attempted to extinguish it, an improvised explosive device (IED) exploded. As a result, the woman suffered burns. Police said that the bomb was filled with shrapnel and the blast could lead to more casualties.
"Eight people have been charged as part of an ongoing investigation into an explosion that injured a woman in Sydney's Inner West earlier this year," the press release said.
The NSW police on Thursday morning raided three homes in the suburbs of Zetland, Concord and Fairfield and arrested nine men aged from 17-20 years old. The police also seized drugs, clothing, phones and other items relevant to the investigation.
One of the suspects, an 18-year-old man, was later released without charge, the police added.
According to the ABC news broadcaster, citing Detective Superintendent Paul Devaney, the blast "was an act of retribution for an alleged theft of prohibited drugs belonging to criminal group members." The police allege that the bomb was meant for someone who did not live at the house.
