Australian police arrest two in connection with gunman Dezi Freeman

Nine/A Current Affair

Australian police have arrested two men in connection with Dezi Freeman, the conspiracy theorist gunman who was shot dead by police after a seven-month manhunt in March.

Freeman had gone on the run in August after shooting dead two police officers who came to execute a search warrant at his home in Porepunkah in rural Victoria.

He was located about 150km (93mi) away, hiding on a remote farm and police said at the time they believed he must have had help escaping from Porepunkah.

On Tuesday police said they had arrested two men aged 48 and 35 at separate locations in Victoria, adding that they would be interviewed by police.

“The investigation remains ongoing and as such, we are not in a position to provide further details at this immediate time,” police said.

In August last year, ten police officers had been sent to Freeman’s property to serve an arrest warrant for historical sex offences. They were attacked and two senior constables – Neal Thompson and Vadim de Waart – were killed by Freeman.

Freeman then disappeared into dense bushland, sparking one of Australia’s largest ever manhunts.

In March, a tip-off led police to a container on a camp at a farm in remote Victoria. Freeman was shot dead after a three-hour stand-off when he emerged wrapped in a blanket and holding a gun he had taken from one of the dead police officers.

Freeman, whose real name was Desmond Filby, was a self-described “sovereign citizen”, part of an anti-government movement that rejects authority and laws.

Unanswered questions remain after Australia’s most wanted fugitive killed in standoff

Fugitive Dezi Freeman shot dead by Australian police after seven months in hiding