ISTANBUL

Australia on Saturday offered a $1 million Australian dollars ($650,000) bounty for information leading to the arrest of a man for allegedly killing two police officers.

Dezi Freeman is accused of fatally shooting two police officers and injuring another on Aug. 26 at his property near the small town of Porepunkah in Victoria’s northeast, as they attempted to execute a search warrant over historical sex offences at his property.

He has remained at large since then, with no confirmed sightings.

Freeman was reported to be part of the "sovereign citizens" group, which claims that its members are not subject to any government statutes unless they consent to them beforehand.

This bounty marks the largest in the Victoria state's history for assisting an arrest.

Homicide Squad Detective Inspector Dean Thomas denied that the bounty was offered due to the search hitting a dead-end.

"It's not an act of desperation and it's far from it," Thomas said.

Currently, more than 450 police officers are scouring the mountainous terrain near Porepunkah, where temperatures fell below freezing on Saturday, in search of Freeman.

The area, riddled with caves and mineshafts, is being combed by specialist police teams.

Police believe he may be receiving help from someone outside, surviving alone in the bush, or may already be dead.