Four men have been charged over an alleged Christmas Day terror plot

Four men have been charged over an alleged Christmas Day terror plot.

A major terror plot was foiled after a series of raids conducted by the AFP and Victoria Police.

Three men charged in connection to the alleged plot appeared in court on Friday.

The first was identified as 26-year-old Abdullah Chaarani from Dallas.

He was followed by 21-year-old Hamza Abbas of Flemington and 24-year-old Ahmed Mohamed of Meadow Heights.

The three men are all facing the same charge: that they prepared for, or planned, a terrorist act.

None of the men applied for bail. They will return to court in April.

A fourth man is still in police custody and will face an out of sessions hearing on Friday.

The fifth was released without charge.

The court was told six warrants were executed today, with a large amount of digital and forensic material seized.

It’s alleged the men were planning an attack in and around Federation Square, Flinders street station, and St Paul’s Cathedral on Christmas Day.

AFP Commissioner Andrew Colvin told Nick McCallum they’re still evaluating all the evidence, but the suspects could have been making a bomb.

‘We have seized material consistent with explosive-making devices,’ he said.

But Mr Colvin said he is ‘very confident’ the threat is completely taken care of, and that Melburnians should not change their holiday season plans as a result of this incident.

Click play to hear more detail from Mr Colvin