The man behind the Sydney terror caravan hoax admits his role in the incident

The man accused of plotting the caravan terror hoax has denied links to Sydney anti-Semitic attacks, but admitted he was attempting to negotiate with the AFP.

The man accused of orchestrating the Dural caravan terror hoax has denied any links to a spate of anti-Semitic attacks in Sydney, but has admitted he intercepted the explosives and was attempting to use the plot to negotiate with the Australian Federal Police.

Sayit Ehan Akca, who fled Australia in 2023 after being charged with conspiring to import a commercial quantity of illicit drugs, spoke exclusively with Four Corners about the allegations he was the “mastermind” behind the fake Sydney caravan terror plot.

On the show on Monday, he confirmed he played a role in sourcing the explosives to offer the Australian Federal Police, so that he could negotiate re-entering the country and receiving bail upon return to Australia.

Sayit Ehan Akca, 35, with wife Georgia, who is not accused of any wrongdoing. Picture: Facebook

Akca said that he told the AFP: “Look, I’ve got information on a movement of explosives. I can seize it and I can hand it over”.

According to Akca, the response from the AFP was: “That’s good. That’ll get you home”.

Akca coordinated with local contacts for information on explosives movements in Sydney, and offered a trade deal to the AFP in December last year.

“I sort of just asked a few people that I knew might have knowledge,” he said

He quite cryptically claimed he “didn’t organise the caravan”, he “just organised the seizure of it”, but did admit he decided where to leave it.

“I actually picked Dural and I just told the driver that I had intercepted to do the seizure off to just put it in a safe spot that we selected off that map,” he said.

Sayet Erhan Akca, the fugitive alleged to be behind the “terror caravan plot” before fleeing Australia, after being charged with alleged drug importation offences. Picture: Facebook

Akca was adamant that the explosives in the caravan were never intended to explode.

“My clear instruction was ‘make sure this is not gonna explode’,” he said.

However, he did acknowledge the risk in leaving the highly dangerous material in a public area.

“If this ends up in the wrong hands or if a kid opens that door or if cops don’t react to it fast enough … There’s so many ways this could go wrong,” he said, describing his anxieties at the time.

“What if the wrong agency found it and it had the detonators ready to go?”

He also denied he was knew about the note found inside the caravan that listed Jewish buildings and locations.

Derriwong Road in Dural near where the caravan “seized” by Sayit Akca was found. Picture: NewsWire / Damian Shaw

“Yeah, if I knew that was there, I would have taken it out,” he said.

Akca said that he told the AFP where the explosives were, but was worried when the caravan was rapidly seized that his plan had been thwarted.

“I was looking for more explosives …’Cause I thought I may as well start looking for another set,” he said.

Akca also repeatedly denied any links to a wave of anti-Semitic attacks that have plagued Sydney.

Police minister Yasmin Catley answers questions about the Dural caravan terrorism case during NSW parliament question time. Picture: NewsWire / Max Mason-Hubers

When asked by Four Corners reporter Mahmood Fazal if he had any involvement in the arson attack on the Only About Children centre on Storey Street in Maroubra, which was also spray painted with anti-Semitic graffiti, he said he thought it was “disturbing” and denied any connection.

“There’s kids that go there. Like … what do their parents tell them? What do they grow up thinking? That someone just blew up their school?,” he asked.

Members of the local Jewish community in Maroubra arrive with their children at the childcare centre which was firebombed in an anti-semitic attack. Picture: NewsWire/ Julian Andrews

“I’m trying to go back to see my son. Does it make sense to attack a school or a childcare, and traumatise 100 kids?”

He said the claims he was behind the anti-Semitic attacks offended him, because “anyone that really knows me – they’d know that I would never, ever take bread off someone’s table”.

“Yeah, I got pretty offended by a couple of them because I know that’s just not my core values,” he said.

“I go to a mosque, and God is God.”