The family of accused mass shooter Naveed Akram was refused entry to a supermax prison in Goulburn on Saturday after a search of their vehicle revealed a fruit knife and a handwritten note, NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon confirmed this week.
Lanyon told reporters on Wednesday that Corrective Services officers conducted the vehicle search after being alerted to the family's arrival at the Goulburn Correctional Complex. "A search was conducted with the vehicle and found what has been described as a fruit knife and other pieces of writing," he said.
Counter-terrorism police were called to examine the note. Investigators determined it was unrelated to terrorism. Lanyon declined to reveal the contents of the note, and stressed that it was Corrective Services, not police, who stopped the visit from proceeding.
Corrective Services NSW confirmed the incident in a statement. "On Saturday, 21 February 2026, Corrective Services NSW staff conducted a search of a visitor car on the grounds of Goulburn Correctional Complex and discovered suspected contraband," the statement read.
Akram, 24, faces 59 charges in connection with the attack at Bondi Beach on 14 December last year, including 15 counts of murder and one count of committing a terrorist act. Fifteen people were killed when gunfire broke out at a Hanukkah celebration at Archer Park on Campbell Parade. Among the dead were a 10-year-old girl named Matilda, Holocaust survivors, and a retired police officer. Dozens more were injured.
Akram's father was killed in a police shootout at the scene. Prosecutors allege the two men drove to the waterfront celebration, parked near a footbridge, and threw four improvised explosive devices, including three pipe bombs packed with steel ball bearings, into the crowd before opening fire. None of the pipe bombs detonated, though preliminary police analysis concluded they were viable.
A box-like explosive device was later found in the boot of their car, along with two hand-painted flags bearing imagery associated with the Islamic State group.
The attack has been described by authorities as Australia's worst mass shooting since the Port Arthur massacre in 1996. It targeted a Jewish community observing Hanukkah, prompting federal parliamentary statements condemning antisemitic violence and calls for a review of security arrangements around religious gatherings.
Akram has not entered pleas to the charges. He is not legally required to do so while the matter remains before the Local Court, where proceedings are ongoing.
His lawyer was contacted for comment prior to publication but did not respond.
The prison visit incident raises routine but real questions about the protocols governing visits to high-security detainees. Corrective Services NSW operates strict search procedures at correctional facilities, particularly for inmates held under heightened security classifications. The discovery of even ordinary items, such as a fruit knife, can trigger a refusal under those rules when the detainee is charged with offences of this severity.
Civil liberties advocates have, in other contexts, raised concerns about whether families of accused persons face disproportionate scrutiny during prison visits. The presumption of innocence applies to Akram, and his family members have not been charged with any offence. At the same time, custodial authorities carry a clear duty to ensure that no material enters a high-security facility unchecked, regardless of the circumstances surrounding any given visit.
As the case moves toward a higher court hearing, scrutiny of both the alleged perpetrators and the institutional responses around them will only intensify. The facts of 14 December remain contested in law, even if the human cost is not. Fifteen people did not return home from a religious celebration. That alone demands a thorough and transparent process, whatever form it ultimately takes.
This article draws on reporting first published by 7News Australia.