Owner of caravan in antisemitic plot in police custody
The owner of a caravan packed with explosives for a potential antisemitic attack is in custody, as authorities confirm it is being treated as potential terrorism.
It follows the discovery of a caravan containing enough explosives for a 40-metre wide blast and notes of the addresses of Jewish people and institutions after it was left abandoned for 12 days on a semi-rural road in Dural, north-west of Sydney.
It was found by a resident on January 19 and reported to authorities, sparking a massive multi-agency probe with more than 100 counter-terrorism investigators.
Police said on Wednesday arrests had been made “around the periphery”, with some connected to other alleged antisemitic attacks. But those responsible were yet to be found.
The explosives in the abandoned caravan are believed to have come from a mining site.
The disturbing discovery was kept secret for more than a week. Photo: AAP
On Thursday, NSW Premier Chris Minns confirmed the van’s owner was among those already in custody as part of special operations cracking down on the spate of antisemitic vandalism.
“I want the public to rest assured that, firstly, the caravan is in police custody,” he told ABC TV on Thursday morning.
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“Secondly, as has been reported in the media, the owner of the van is in police custody as well, and inquiries continue and nothing will stop until NSW Police have arrested those who are responsible for this.”
The discovery of the van and subsequent investigation was kept secret for 10 days. Minns said he was briefed on January 20 and the information remained “clandestine” for operational purposes.
“I don’t want the public to believe that anyone was twiddling their thumbs over the last 10 days – the exact opposite is the case,” he told Sky News.
It was easy for some politicians to demand the information be released immediately, especially with the federal election looming, Minns said.
“I would just urge everybody to let NSW Police conduct these investigations,” he said.
“The stakes couldn’t be higher. Politics can wait for another day.”
On Thursday, police confirmed the caravan discovery became public only because of a leak. NSW Police Deputy Commissioner David Hudson said the force was “not happy about that information being leaked”.
“There’s a number of agencies involved in relation to this investigation who were privy to the same investigation,” he said.
“We will re-strategise in relation to what activities we can pursue in an investigative sense based on media reporting and what’s known, and we will continue to try to find those responsible.”
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese joined the chorus of politicians to condemn the wanted culprits and didn’t quibble with Minns’ description of the incident as an act of terrorism.
“It’s clearly designed to harm people, but it’s also designed to create fear in the community, and that is a very definition,” he told ABC Radio Sydney.
Israel’s Ambassador to Australia Amir Maimon was deeply alarmed over the foiled act, saying he had been assured that every measure was being taken to protect the community.
Local Jewish groups have also expressed concern, with the Zionist Federation of Australia calling it a manifestation of intolerance towards Jews and 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. Hudson said the caravan discovery was an “escalation”.
On Thursday morning, there was further distress for the Jewish community when antisemitic graffiti was discovered on a school in Maroubra.
“Grotesque” slurs were sprayed on walls at Mount Sinai College and a nearby property, according to media reports.
Jewish Board of Deputies president David Ossip told The Daily Telegraph it was “sickening” that school children would have to walk past the “repellent hate speech” on their way into school.
Liberal MP Julian Leeser called for more patrols and armed guards outside Jewish community institutions.
Leeser, who holds the electorate of Berowra, where the bombs were found, acknowledged patrols had been boosted but said that wasn’t enough.
“I think there clearly needs to be more patrols, there clearly needs to be more 24/7 people, armed guards and the like stationed outside community institutions and in the major centres of community life, I think we’ve got to that point at the moment,” he said.
– with AAP
