Assistant Commissioner Cook and Superintendent Faux have finished giving their update.

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The assistant commissioner has emphasised the three men were "never going to make it to any" daycare centre.

"The collateral damage there would be far too great."

Assistant Commissioner Cook says police executed their arrests "without firing any live rounds".

"They used special weapons and tactics available to them," he says.

"They were non-lethal rounds so the weapons that are used by these people are designed for use in certain situations that minimises risk to the public."

"Risk to the public is of highest priority, and we will always do that time and time again," Superintendent Faux says of the effort to collect evidence against the clock.

"So in our view, there was never any risk to the public because we were controlling the situation."

"I think these people ... we arrested intended to carry out the murder, they don't know the victim," Superintendent Faux says of initial inquiries.

"They do not have a personal relationship with the victim.

"They were people who were hired by a syndicate, possibly an offshore syndicate to carry out this murder on their behalf."

Superintendent Faux says police are "not conclusively certain which daycare centre it was relevant to this intended hit".

"But we are aware it was around a daycare centre."

The men were allegedly driving in a stolen car with cloned plates, the superintendent says.

"They had balaclavas on, there was enough indication that something was happening," Superintendent Faux says.

"These are only three people who are part of a broad crime syndicate we are looking at," Superintendent Faux says.

He says the strike force is looking at a "number of people" across the state more broadly. 

Superintendent Faux is speaking now and says police identified "something serious" was about to unfold on Tuesday.

"Yesterday we were aware that these three people, their conduct and their behaviour ... indicated that they were going to do something of a serious nature," he says.

"It was clear once we arrested these people it was clear what these cowards were going to do."

The assistant commissioner says police believe the "breakdown" that led to the alleged hit was due to an "internal matter" and "dispute" within the organisation.

"At the time of the arrest the victim was in the vicinity," he says.