29/01/25
Major anti-terrorism investigation is underway after a mysterious caravan full of explosives was discovered in Sydney with a chilling three-word note about the intended target
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 a load of explosives in 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.
NSW Police is working in partnership with AFP, the NSW Crime Commission and ASIO in its ongoing investigation.
The owners of the caravan are unknown and police are yet to confirm if the plot is linked to far-right extremists, Islamic terrorists or any other group.
Arrests had been made, with some connected to other alleged anti-Semitic attacks.
"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 doesn't believe the plot is linked to far-right extremists but couldn't rule it out.
'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,' he said.
'We pursue everything until we get to the truth, and we will do that.'
NSW Premier Chris Minns is also 'very concerned' about the rising number of anti-Semitic attacks.
'I want to make it very clear, please take this threat incredibly seriously,' he told reporters at a joint press conference on Wednesday night.
'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.'
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.
A TIMELINE OF MAJOR ANTI-SEMITIC INCIDENTS
* November 21: Anti-Semitic and anti-Israel graffiti was sprayed and a car was set on fire in an eastern Sydney suburb with a large Jewish population. Three men have been charged
* December 6: The Adass Israel Synagogue in south Melbourne was burned down in an attack Prime Minister Anthony Albanese labelled an act of terrorism
* December 11: Graffiti including 'Kill Israiel' (sic) was sprayed on buildings and footpaths and the perpetrators' car set on fire in a Sydney suburb with a large Jewish community. A 34-year-old woman has been charged
* January 6: Anti-Semitic slogans were painted on a car and sprayed on nearby buildings and footpaths in Sydney's east
* January 10: Swastikas were painted on the Southern Sydney Synagogue in an act the NSW premier labelled 'disgusting and disgraceful'
* January 11: A synagogue in Sydney's inner west was spray-painted with red swastikas and vandals attempted to set it on fire
* January 16: Police charged a man who allegedly used social media to make death threats against members of the Jewish community
* January 17: A house that formerly belonged to Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin was targeted in an arson and graffiti attack
*January 21: A childcare centre near the Maroubra Synagogue in Sydney's east was set on fire with an anti-Semitic slogan sprayed on a wall
* January 29: Police announce a caravan filled with explosives and a note containing addresses of Jewish people and institutions was found 10 days earlier in northwest Sydney.
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