A Moroccan national being held in a WA immigration detention centre has been charged after hundreds of threatening calls were made to Australian Federal Police officers.

The 45-year-old man allegedly made harassing, threatening, and menacing calls to AFP officers, including one where he threatened to kill people.

He was arrested from the Yongah Hill Immigration Detention Centre, northeast of Perth, on Thursday.

Police alleged in Perth Magistrates Court yesterday that the man made 297 calls to the AFP between May 31 and July 24.

Officers described the calls as “aggressive”. 

“These types of calls not only impose a frustrating waste of resources for the agency targeted, they can be distressing and concerning for the people who answer them, even if they are not the direct target of the threats,” AFP Detective Acting Inspector Karen Addiscott said.

“The AFP will allege the calls were made to the AFP’s National Operations State Service Centre and could have disrupted or delayed genuine calls from being answered.”

He was charged with one count of using a carriage service to make a threat and using a carriage service to harass and menace.

He was remanded in custody to face court again on September 12.