A senior prisons superintendent has become the latest figure to be detained under the state of emergency.

According to a detention order gazetted on August 27, the officer was credibly identified as an associate of the Radical Islamic Criminal Gang and other networks, accused of providing support to incarcerated gang leaders and members. Officials allege that, by virtue of his position, he facilitated breaches of prison security, enabling contraband to reach inmates who were actively plotting violent attacks, including the imminent killing of public officials with high-powered rifles.

The order states that he poses a “serious threat to public safety,” and continued to use his position of prison supervisor to assist gang members in co-ordinating activity despite their incarceration at the military prisons. He was ordered detained at the Eastern Correctional Rehabilitation Centre (ECRC) in Santa Rosa.