‘I’m no national hero’: Businessman who found suspected ‘terror caravan’ speaks out

A business owner who found the suspected “terror caravan” says he is “no hero” for calling in police, while unearthed social media posts show the caravan owner boasting with wads of cash ahead of the vehicle’s haunting discovery.

A mobile coffee business owner who found the suspected “terror caravan”, laden with explosives and the address of a Sydney synagogue, says he is no “national hero” for calling in police and thwarting a potential mass casualty event.

The Dural man, who The Daily Telegraph agreed to name only as John, spoke about the shocking discovery for the first time on Sunday, a fortnight after he finally got around to looking inside the abandoned caravan he towed to his property weeks earlier, and hadn’t yet unlocked.

But when John used bolt cutters to break a padlock on the Viscount Grand Tourer he assumed was left unwanted on Derriwong Rd, police said he discovered Powergel, which had the potential to cause a 40-metre blast zone, and anti-Semitic material.

The shaken man, who runs a mobile coffee van in the area, immediately called police on January 19 and reported the shocking discovery.

The property at Dural in Sydney’s North West where the caravan containing explosives was relocated to before the discovery. Photo: Jeremy Piper

“I wouldn’t say I’m a national hero or anything like that,” John said.

“I would say it’s just a very good thing it ended up in my hands, and not the wrong hands.

“That is about all I can tell you, I don’t know anything more...and the police have asked me not to discuss it beyond that.”

A neighbour whose property overlooks the two-storey ramshackle rental house John and his wife live at said he saw the “pop-up style” caravan parked next to the couple’s shed, but thought nothing of it.

“Yeah I saw it, it was there for weeks...It was only on the road for a few days, John thought it was dumped there, we all did, and he’s taken it in, he thought it might be good on a farm he’s got (outside Sydney),” the neighbour said.

The property at Dural in Sydney’s North West where the caravan containing explosives was relocated to before the discovery. Photo: Jeremy Piper

“But then Christmas came and everyone’s busy, you know or gone away, and he (John) didn’t look in it ‘til the other day.”

A multi-agency investigation made up of 100 Australian Federal Police and NSW Police officers, as well as ASIO investigators, is now working to identify the mastermind behind the “terror caravan”, which was towed to the city’s Hills District on or around December 7, and left by the roadside.

The property at Dural in Sydney’s North West where the caravan containing explosives was relocated to before the discovery. Photo: Jeremy Piper

Around the same time, a western Sydney couple, who have both been charged with alleged incidents police described as being on the “periphery” of the terror investigation, were spruiking their new-found wealth on social media.

Scott Marshall, 36, who police say is the owner of the caravan, but who has not been charged in relation to its discovery, posted a photograph to his Facebook page on December 6, showing wads of cash.

In the picture, a black and white cat can be seen gripping two large bundles of $50 notes, held together with an elastic band.

“F**k his (he’s) one rich pussy,” Marshall wrote.

Marshall’s girlfriend Tammie Farrugia, 34, replied to the post: “F**k he must be good at what he does”.

That same day, Farrugia did a call out on Facebook and TikTok: “Anyone got a caravan for sale need one ASAP got cash”.

A facebook post by Scott Marshall showing wads of cash, just a day before a caravan is discovered full of explosives. Picture: Facebook

Marshall, Farrugia and a third person, 39-year-old Sean Nichols, were all named on an AFP search warrant when officers raided a Dural property on January 21, two days after the caravan’s contents were discovered.

Despite this, none of the trio have been charged in relation to the caravan plot and The Daily Telegraph is not suggesting any wrongdoing or involvement on their part.

The property’s owners say they have no connection to the couple, and that the caravan was never towed onto their land, but just parked on the roadside nearby.

Senior police said last week neither Marshall nor Farrugia appeared to have ideology that would lead them to commit hate crimes, and they were looking at whether the pair was paid to “source and park” the caravan, for a criminal organisation.

Marshall was arrested on Christmas Eve and charged with drugs and weapons offences, while Farrugia was arrested on January 20 and charged in relation to an anti-Semitic graffiti attack in Woollahra, late last year.

A convicted armed robber, who claimed he met Marshall about 15 years ago, spoke highly of the man he knew.

“Scotty has always been quiet, well-mannered and easy going guy who had a problem with drugs,” James Jinette said.

“He’s never shown any signs of racism or hate.”