A joint counter terror investigation involving 100 officers has been set up after a caravan stacked with explosives along with a note of known Jewish targets was found at a semi-rural property.
The vehicle was found by a resident at a property in Dural in north-west Sydney on January 19.
Police found enough explosives to create a 40-metre blast inside the van along with a note containing the addresses of Jewish targets and a synagogue.
Officers also found a note in the caravan, which is understood to have read ‘f*** the Jews’.
Police are treating the situation as a credible terror threat and are investigating the van’s origins, owners and any associates of the owners.
The owner of the caravan is in police custody after they were previously arrested for other alleged offences.
It’s understood they have not been charged in relation to the explosives found in the caravan, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
Police are yet to confirm if the plot is linked to far-right extremists, Islamic terrorists or any other group.
An unknown number of other arrests have also been made, with some also alleged to be connected other alleged anti-Semitic attacks.
A caravan filled with explosives and a note with the addresses of Jewish people has been found at a property north of Sydney
NSW Police is now working in partnership with AFP, the NSW Crime Commission and ASIO in its ongoing investigation
‘That caravan contained an amount of explosives and some indication that those explosives might be used in some form of anti-Semitic attack,’ NSW Police Deputy Commissioner David Hudson said.
‘We’re taking this seriously and all lines of inquiry are being pursued, but I want to stress we do not believe there is an ongoing threat from this discovery.’
It’s understood the resident who reported the van to police was concerned that the seemingly dumped vehicle posed a safety risk to passing cars.
The man had towed the caravan onto his property before realising its contents.
Police have since seized the van.
‘Some things just don’t add up,’ one source involved in the operation told the Daily Telegraph.
‘Leaving notes and addresses are too obvious, likewise leaving it on a public road makes us believe it could well possibly be a set up.’
Deputy Commissioner Hudson remained tight-lipped about which group or individuals may be behind the frightening plot.
A counter-terrorism investigation is currently underway concerning a van filled with explosives found at a Kenthurst property earlier this month
NSW Premier Chris Minns addressed the media on Wednesday night after a caravan stacked with explosives along with a note of known Jewish targets was found at a semi-rural property
‘We don’t have any particular ideology in relation to what’s causing this or any common links between certain ideologies, but nothing’s excluded at this stage,’ Deputy Commissioner Hudson told reporters at a press conference on Wednesday night.
‘We pursue everything until we get to the truth, and we will do that.’
NSW Premier Chris Minns described the incident as the discovery of a potential mass casualty event.
‘There’s only one way of calling it out and that is terrorism,’ he said.
‘I want to make it very clear, please take this threat incredibly seriously.
NSW Deputy Commissioner David Hudson doesn’t believe the plot is linked to far-right extremists but couldn’t rule it out.
‘As I’ve said for many, many weeks now, the full resources of the state of NSW and NSW have been deployed to confront this very serious threat to our community.
‘I want to make it absolutely clear, and I understand community concerns about this story and similar escalating incidents of anti-Semitic violence in our community that anyone attempting terrorism, violence, hatred in our community will be met with the full force of the law, that there are massive amounts of police and government resources being devoted to this investigation, that there will be absolutely no tolerance under any circumstances for these acts of criminal violence in our community.’
Police believe the threat stemming from the dumped van had been contained.
‘We will not rest until these matters are resolved,’ Deputy Commissioner Hudson said.
‘We understand the concerns of the community. We understand the concerns of the Jewish community, and we take all these threats exceptionally seriously.’
Police found a load of explosives in the van along with a note containing the addresses of Jewish targets and a synagogue. Pictured are police at the semi-rural property
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has ‘unequivocally’ condemned the act.
‘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 in a statement.
‘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.’
The incident comes after a spate of anti-Semitic attacks in Sydney, with a childcare centre near a synagogue in the city’s east set alight and sprayed with anti-Semitic graffiti on January 21.
Four days before, a house that formerly belonged to Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin was targeted in an arson and graffiti attack.
Two men have been charged over a separate attack on a synagogue in Newtown after it was spray-painted with red swastikas and briefly set alight in the early hours of January 11.
Federal police have identified that foreign actors recruiting local ‘criminals for hire’ could be behind some of the attacks targeting Jewish communities.
Cars have been set alight, a synagogue burnt down and anti-Semitic slurs painted on buildings and cars in attacks that have escalated in frequency and severity since December.
