Arrests made linked to explosive-laden caravan found alongside list of synagogues
Police say criminals were behind a ‘fabricated plot’ after a series of raids after a caravan packed with explosives and a list of synagogues was found in outer Sydney.
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The caravan laden with explosives that sparked fears of an anti-Semitic attack was a “fabricated plot” by a known criminal, police say.
“Almost immediately, experienced investigators within the joint counter-terrorism team believed that the caravan was part of a fabricated terrorist plot, essentially a criminal con job,” AFP deputy commissioner Krissy Barrett told reporters on Monday.
“Today, I can reveal the caravan was never going to cause a mass casualty event but instead was concocted by criminals who wanted to cause fear for personal benefit.”
The caravan was found in the semirural Sydney suburb of Dural on January 19. The caravan allegedly contained a list of synagogues.
Police said at the time the amount of explosives on-board could have created a 40m blast zone.
In a revelatory update on Monday, high-ranking NSW and federal police lifted the lid on the high-profile caravan incident.
“The caravan was never going to cause a mass casualty event,” Deputy Commissioner Barrett said, explaining the way the explosives were not hidden and the fact there was no detonator were key giveaways.
“The caravan was an elaborate scheme contrived by criminals.”
The person “pulling the strings” wanted a change to their criminal status, so kept a distance, she said, and local criminals were hired.
The federal police would not say if the person behind the plot was in Australia or overseas, or in prison.
“This twisted, self-serving criminality has terrorised Jewish Australians,” Deputy Commissioner Barrett said.
Too many “lower-level criminals” were accepting fake criminal jobs from people inside prison, where the prisoners were trying to get reduced sentences by passing on the information to authorities, she said.
“Put simply, the plan was the following: organise for someone to buy a caravan, place it with explosives and written material of anti-Semitic nature, leave it in a specific location, and then, once that happened, inform law enforcement about an impending terror attack against Jewish Australians,” she said.
“Regardless of the motivation of those responsible for this fake plot, this has had a chilling effect on the Jewish community.”
The high-ranking AFP officer said the fake plots had far-reaching consequences.
“What organised crime has done to the Jewish community is reprehensible and it won’t go without consequences,” she said.
“There was also unfair suspicion directed at other communities and that is also reprehensible.
“Those creating fake terror threats, including using anti-Semitism to elicit a desired response from law enforcement or the courts, face being charged for creating fake plots, and unfortunately for them they will face the full experience, capability, and dogged determination of terrorism investigators.”
Despite making 14 arrests on Monday, police did not arrest the people directly involved in the caravan plot.
These 14 arrests were however related to an ongoing strike force Pearl, targeting anti-Semitism across Sydney, and five of the 14 were charged.
The people arrested on Monday are aged from 27 to 41, and include one woman and four men.
One of the men, a 33-year-old, will face court over alleged involvement in spray-painting cars and houses in Randwick and Kingsford on February 2.
A 40-year-old man will face allegations he spray-painted a home, high school and shopping centre in Eastgardens, as well as a house on Eastlakes.
A 34-year-old man has been charged with directing the activities of a criminal group.
Police say the person or people ultimately orchestrating these attacks was at the helm of the caravan plot.
NSW Police Deputy Commissioner David Hudson said the purported anti-Semitic attacks caused distress for Jewish Australians.
However, when prompted by a reporter, the deputy police commissioner said Jewish Australians could take some comfort in the fact the attacks were orchestrated by a small group.
The overarching strike force targeting the string of anti-Semitic graffiti and vandalism incidents statewide has now garnered 29 arrests with 127 charges laid.
The operation set up to probe the caravan incident has not resulted in any arrests, but has thrown up “valuable evidence”, deputy commissioner Hudson said.
A Sydney man discovered the caravan and towed in onto his property, only to wait weeks before cutting open the padlocked door, discovering the explosives and materials suggesting Jews were targets.
Police described the potential for the caravan’s contents to create a “potential mass casualty event”.
About 100 state and federal police and ASIO officers were given the task of investigating the caravan, against a backdrop of increasing anti-Semitic graffiti and attacks across the country, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne.
“It is deeply distressing this is happening in this state,” NSW Premier Chris Minns said at the time the caravan was discovered.
“I never thought in Australia, in 2025, we would see this level of racism or anti-Semitism.”
“We understand the community in NSW, particularly the Jewish community, are concerned about the rising attacks of anti-Semitism.
“Those who are going to commit hateful acts of violence, graffiti, malicious damage in our community will be met with the full force of the law.”
Originally published as Arrests made linked to explosive-laden caravan found alongside list of synagogues
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