Arabic version: الشرطة تعتقل امرأة من نيو ساوث ويلز في تحقيق حول تحركات ديزي فريمان
A 58-year-old New South Wales woman was arrested in Bairnsdale today as part of an investigation into who helped Dezi Freeman remain out of sight after the fatal shooting of two police officers in Porepunkah.
According to ABC News, Victoria Police said detectives from Taskforce Summit arrested the woman in the Bairnsdale area this morning and that she will now be interviewed by police as part of their ongoing probe into Desmond Freeman’s movements following the shooting last August. Victoria Police were quoted in a short statement: “Detectives from Taskforce Summit arrested a 58-year-old NSW woman in the Bairnsdale area this morning as part of their ongoing investigation into the movements of Desmond Freeman following the fatal shooting of two police officers in Porepunkah last August.” “The woman will now be interviewed by police,” the statement added.
Freeman shot Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim De Waart-Hottart in Porepunkah in August last year. He spent seven months as a fugitive before being shot dead in March during a confrontation with police at a rural property at Thologolong on the Victoria–New South Wales border.
The investigation has involved the arrest of several people since Freeman’s death, with those arrested so far later released without charge. Detectives are retracing Freeman’s movements in the weeks and months after the shootings. Seven properties across north-east Victoria and New South Wales, including Umina Beach, have been searched as part of inquiries into whether a broader network may have helped him. Police have also said attention has turned to why anyone might have been willing to help Freeman and how those connections formed.
What happens next: Police say investigations into Freeman’s support network remain ongoing. “The investigation remains ongoing and as such, we are not in a position to provide further details at this time,” Victoria Police said.
Related sections: Australia/استراليا | New South Wales | Victoria
