Anti-Semitic explosive caravan ‘terror’ plot: ‘Periphery’ arrests as ‘mass casualty’ avoided from Dural find
The discovery of a caravan full of explosives has authorities using all available resources as the incident is labelled a thwarted anti-Semitic “terror” plot that could have caused a “mass casualty event”.
The owner of the caravan has reportedly been arrested by NSW police.
On Wednesday, police revealed the caravan which held enough explosives to create a 40-metre wide blast zone, had been discovered on a Dural property, north of Sydney.
The discovery was made on January 19, with police and Government staying silent on the explosive-laden caravan that also held lists of addresses of Jewish synagogues and a note saying “f**k the Jews”, as they attempted to investigate the “terror” plot with a level anonymity.
The caravan, now the centre of a major counter-terrorism investigation involving over 100 police, was on the property for 12 days before it was discovered.
The alarming escalation is just the latest in a string of anti-Semitic attacks in Australia, causing alarm within the Jewish community over safety as police and Government grapple with a new domestic war on Australian soil.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said the caravan could have caused a “mass casualty event”.
“There’s only one way of calling it out and that is terrorism,” he said.
Speaking again on Thursday morning, Mr Minns was quick to point out that the time between the discovery of the caravan and its contents, and the information release to the public was for police operational reasons.
“Police made operational decisions to keep the public safe,” Mr Minns said when asked by Ben Fordham on 2GB why it took so long to tell the public.
“The counter-terrorism teams in NSW are the best in the land and they made the call.
“It was necessary to keep it quiet, but regrettably there was a media leak and we had to release the information ourselves.
The Premier was then quizzed on the bizarre circumstances around the caravan being moved onto a property and the discovery of the explosives and alleged anti-Semitic messaging.
“There have already been reports about arrests and Operation Pearl and Operation Shelter are doing great work in NSW. No stone will be left unturned in this investigation,” Mr Minns said.
Arrests had been made “around the periphery”, with some connected to other alleged anti-Semitic attacks, but those responsible remain at large, NSW Police Deputy Commissioner David Hudson said.
“We have no information that there are further explosives in our community in relation to conducting anti-Semitic attacks anywhere – we believe that we have contained appropriately this current threat,” he said.
Those “periphery” arrests allegedly include Tammie Farrugia, who has been charged over an alleged anti-Semitic attack in Woollahra back in December and her boyfriend Scott Marshall, the Daily Telegraph reported.
Neither have been charged over the explosive caravan discovery, with police saying: “Ongoing investigations need to be conducted”.
The Nightly does not suggest the two are responsible for the explosive caravan discovered in Dural.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese issued a statement “unequivocally” condemning the attack on Wednesday.
“The full might of the AFP, ASIO and NSW Police are being utilised in this major investigation by the Joint Counter Terrorism Team,” he said.
“The NSW Police have people in custody and continue with other agencies, including those involved in AFP Special Operation Avalite to investigate threats, violence and hatred towards the Australian Jewish community, and take action and hold people to account for crimes.
“Hate and extremism have no place in Australian society.”
Israel’s Ambassador to Australia Amir Maimon said he was deeply alarmed by the news, saying he had been assured that every measure was being taken to protect the community.
Local Jewish groups have expressed alarm over the foiled act, with Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Peter Wertheim saying his group had been assured there was no ongoing threat to the Jewish or wider community.
The Zionist Federation of Australia said the foiled attack is a manifestation of intolerance towards Jews and was the most severe threat to the Jewish community in Australia to date.
Cars have been set alight, a synagogue burnt down and anti-Semitic slurs painted on buildings and cars in a spate of attacks that have escalated in frequency and severity since December, with Mr Hudson saying this discovery was an “escalation”.
– With AAP.
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