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Officers hit the streets in southwest Sydney as part of Operation FORT

Friday, 28 November 2025 03:31:08 PM

An ongoing operation to disrupt street-level and serious crime across Sydney’s southwest has commenced.

On Sunday 23 November 2025, Operation FORT commenced, deploying 22 officers from Bass Hill Police Station across the nine Police Area Commands (PACs) within the Southwest Metropolitan Region.

The mission of Operation FORT is to assist Police Area Commands in reducing the impact of crime and violence in the community, through high-visibility and proactive policing.

In the time since the operation began, the following incidents of note:

  • About 1.30pm on Monday 24 November 2025, officers attached to Operation Fort were conducting high-visibility patrols in the Liverpool CBD when police were called to Liverpool Hospital after a man was seen in the Emergency Department allegedly in possession of what appeared to be a replica firearm in his bag. A 42-year-old was stopped by police in nearby Campbell Street, where he was arrested without incident. A search of the man’s bag revealed a disassembled gel blaster replica styled as an automatic rifle, with the barrel and receiver in plain view at the time of apprehension. The man was taken to Liverpool Police Station, where he was charged with possess unregistered firearm – not pistol/prohibited firearm. The man was refused bail to appear at Liverpool Local Court on Tuesday 25 November 2025, where he was granted conditional bail, to appear before the same Court on Tuesday 9 December 2025.

  • Between 9.00am and 9.00pm yesterday (Thursday 27 November 2025), officers attached to Operation Fort conducted a knife scanning operation at Liverpool railway station and CBD. Police conducted 85 searches. A 16-year-old male teen was allegedly found in possession of a 30-centimetre knife in his bag and allegedly assaulted officers during the interaction. He was arrested and taken to Liverpool Police Station, where he was charged with custody of a knife in a public place (first offence), assault police and resisting police in the execution of duty. He was granted conditional bail to appear at a children’s court on Monday 1 December 2025.

  • A 51-year-old man was stopped as part of the operation and found to have an outstanding warrant for a domestic-violence related assault. He was taken to Liverpool Police Station where he was charged with the outstanding warrant. He was refused bail to appear at Liverpool Local Court today (Friday 28 November 2025).

Operation FORT remains ongoing and further charges are expected to be laid as inquiries continue.