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Trio charged over terrorism-themed prank video

Two brothers aged 18 and 20 and a 16-year-old have been charged over a terrorism-themed video prank.

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Two brothers aged 18 and 20 and a 16-year-old charged over a terrorism-themed video prank in Melbourne involving a fake AK-47 have been banned from producing any more videos.

The three were charged with public nuisance, possessing a prohibited weapon, and behaving in an offensive manner in a public place.

Arman Jalal, 18, admits their drive-by prank was "pretty bad" but his older brother Max defiantly says they don't need to take the video down.

The charges arose from a video uploaded this week that depicted three men in traditional Middle Eastern attire pointing and shooting the fake gun at people across Melbourne.

A girl is seen fleeing from a phone booth during one of the staged drive-by shootings in the video.

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"The drive-by was messed up, I'll admit that myself," Arman told media as he left the Victoria Police complex at Docklands on Thursday.

He regrets scaring the girl, saying: "That wasn't the intention at all".

He and Max have been released on bail on the condition they do not produce or upload any offensive images or video on social media.

"We did something pretty bad and the punishment ... could have been worse," he said.

The brothers are due to appear before the Melbourne Magistrates Court on May 20, while the 16-year-old has been bailed to appear at a children's court.

Max does not think the controversial video should be taken down.

"Why would I take the video down?" he said.

The three were arrested after Victoria Police's counter-terrorism unit searched a suburban Melbourne home on

Thursday looking for items linked to the video.

"They were contacted by family and surrendered themselves into custody," assistant commissioner of counter-terrorism command Ross Guenther told reporters.

The 18-year-old says he was tricked into going to the police station.

"The police lied because they told us to go to the station to talk," he said.

"We weren't meant to go there to get arrested."

Mr Guenther says his unit had been monitoring the video pranks for weeks but had decided to take action on Thursday because the trio's actions were criminal.

"The nature of the videos has escalated. We believe the tipping point's been reached," he said.

"When the material was first identified they were less confronting. They've certainly escalated ... and that's why we've taken it on."

The three have described their video as a childish prank, but police do not think it is a laughing matter.

"The video suggests this type of behaviour is OK. It's definitely not," Mr Guenther said.

"It's criminal behaviour and that's the way we'll be proceeding with it."

He says authorities are trying to get the videos pulled down.


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