‘Jigsaw puzzle’: Investigators seek out ‘masterminds’ behind Dural caravan plot

NSW Police, the AFP and other agencies are trying to piece together a “jigsaw puzzle” of leads and information to try and determine the true “masterminds” behind the Dural caravan plot.

Finding the masterminds who recruited two unwitting alleged “terror mules” in the Dural caravan plot is the priority for investigators responding to the discovery of an explosive-laden caravan that could have been used in an anti-Semitic attack.

NSW Police officers, along with the AFP and other agencies, met on Thursday as they attempt to piece together what one source called a “jigsaw puzzle” of evidence and leads, to try and determine who is behind the plot to target a Jewish synagogue and other buildings.

Tammie Farrugia and her boyfriend Scott Marshall are currently both behind bars charged with offences unrelated to the alleged anti-Semitic “terror” plot, that a Dural local alerted police to on January 19 sparking a major multi-agency investigation.

Police are investigating if Scott Marshall and Tammie Farrugia have links to bikie gangs or white supremacist groups.

The Daily Telegraph understands one line of inquiry is whether the pair have links to bikie gangs or white supremacist groups.

An additional line of investigation is how the caravan came to be purchased for somewhere in the range of $5000 to $10,000 in cash.

An anti-Semitic fire attack in Woollahra in Sydney's east

“One thing everyone is in agreement with is the two people charged would not have the money or the organisational skills on their own to acquire explosives, and pay cash for a caravan,” a source said.

“We believe those two people may have ties to these groups, which does not mean they are involved, but it has to be explored.

“As far as we can see there is nothing to put them in the world of the bigger organised crime families in the southwest who in the past are known for promoting terror acts.”

Farrugia, Marshall and another man, Simon Lance Nichols, were all named on an AFP search warrant during raids at a property in Dural last week, a resident of the home said.

But 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.

Police searched this property near where a caravan was found on Derriwong Road. Picture: NewsWire / Damian Shaw

NSW Police fronted the media again on Thursday, with Deputy Commissioner Dave Hudson stressing that his officers, and those from a number of external agencies involved in the joint counter-terrorism team investigation, were focused on finding concrete evidence about those responsible for the caravan.

“We investigate. We don’t speculate, and we need evidence to support what our beliefs are,” Dep Comm Hudson said.

He added that police were yet to identify a “specific ideology that would cause them to commit the acts that they’ve committed, and that indicates to us that they are being orchestrated in some manner”.

The AFP previously stated they have some intelligence that there are possibly overseas players employing people in Australia and paying them in cryptocurrency to carry out acts for them, but have refused to go into any further detail or provide proof about those claims when pressed.