Here you go, Albo! AFP warrant outlines keys to caravan ’terror plot’ investigation
The AFP search warrant central to the Dural caravan investigation can be revealed, as pressure continues to pile on the prime minister about when he was briefed on the ‘terror plot’.
NSW
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This is the AFP search warrant issued at multiple addresses across Sydney as part of the major investigation into the Dural caravan terror plot, as Opposition Leader Peter Dutton called for an independent inquiry into when Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was briefed.
As pressure continues to pile on the Mr Albanese to answer the question of when he was briefed about a caravan loaded with explosives and the addresses of key Jewish sites being found in Dural, The Daily Telegraph can reveal what police have been looking for in their investigations.
Tammie Farrugia, her boyfriend Scott Marshall and his mate Simon Nichols have all been arrested on the “periphery” of the caravan plot investigation.
Each of the trio is named in full on the search warrants, but none are charged over the potential terror plot and The Daily Telegraph is not suggesting any of the trio are involved.
In addition to an original search warrant on Derriwong Rd in Dural – where the caravan was found – police have also searched the homes of Marshall and Farrugia at Liverpool, the home of Simon Nichols’ father in Emu Plains, and also an address in Castle Hill.
Anything relating to Nichols’ business Exilift Pty Ltd, which was based in Rosebery, was also named on the warrant.
Sought also were any potential links to the Viscount Grand Tourer caravan, or Powergel Trimex 3000 and Buster Power Danger – two of the explosives understood to have been found inside.
The Daily Telegraph last week revealed police are investigating Facebook posts by Farrugia from December 6 – a day before the caravan is believed to have been parked at Dural – in which she said: “Looking for a caravan for sale, hit me up if u [sic] have one cheers”.
Any evidence relating to Facebook Marketplace was also a key focus of the warrant.
Farrugia is currently behind bars on remand charged with offences relating to an alleged anti-Semitic attack at Woollahra in December.
The search warrants focused on anything linked to the words “Isreal” or “Israiel”, which were allegedly graffitied on homes that day, and the licence plates of cars allegedly used in that same incident.
Other potential evidence such as photographs, telephone numbers and email addresses, banking records, storage applications, vehicle ownerships and passports, were also named as being central to the warrant.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton held a lengthy press conference on Thursday morning alongside Senator James Patterson, the shadow minister for home affairs, in which he announced he had written to the Prime Minister demanding an independent public inquiry into if, or when, he had been briefed on the Dural caravan incident.
In a rare Canberra press conference, Mr Dutton said it was “inconceivable” the Prime Minister didn’t know about what “was believed to be the biggest planned terror attack in our country”.
“How can we conceive of a position where the Prime Minister of our country is not aware of a planned mass terrorist attack that could have resulted in a 40-metre blast zone and hundreds of people losing their lives?” Mr Dutton said.
“It is inconceivable, if you think about it, during the conversation the Prime Minister had with the Premier, who had been briefed on 20 January, that neither the Premier nor Prime Minister raised the issue in the discussions.”
Mr Dutton also said Mr Minns should answer questions about whether he was advised not to share information with the Prime Minister.
Mr Dutton also alluded that concerns over leaks from the Prime Minister’s office could have caused intelligence agencies to keep him in the dark, but didn’t clarify why he thought that was the case.
Mr Albanese has repeatedly batted away Coalition questioning this week on whether he was briefed before the story broke in The Daily Telegraph.
On Wednesday, he accused the Coalition of politicising the incident, saying the government had made a choice “to prioritise getting to the bottom of what is happening here (and) supporting the police and intelligence agencies”.
“Or you can choose to play politics and play these games,” Mr Albanese said in Question Time.
AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw is set to face a parliamentary joint committee sitting on Thursday evening where he is expected to be quizzed on why the Prime Minister was not briefed on January 20 – the day after the caravan was found by police and the same day that NSW Premier Chris Minns was first informed by NSW Police.
Nichols was already in custody when the terror investigation into the caravan began, having been arrested by the NSW Police Organised Crime Squad on January 2 over the discovery of eight stolen cars, fitted with cloned number plates, known in the underworld as “kill cars”.
Marshall was arrested on December 24 and charged with two counts of goods suspected of being stolen and two counts of possess or use a prohibited weapon without permit, but has pleaded not guilty and remains behind bars on remand.
Farrugia was arrested on January 21 and charged with participating in a criminal group, accessory before the fact to an offence and carry in conveyance without consent of the owner, and was refused bail.
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Originally published as Here you go, Albo! AFP warrant outlines keys to caravan ’terror plot’ investigation
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