Accused players in sinister anti-Semitic plot: ex-bikie middleman Sayed Moosawi to young meth addict

A former Nomad bikie boss has been unmasked as an alleged middleman for the overseas kingpin who masterminded terrifying attacks on Sydney’s Jewish community by recruiting teens, low-level criminals and drug addicts to carry out his orders.

Clockwise from top left: Cassie Crowder; Sayed Moosawi; Tammie Farrugia and Scott Marshall; two of Monday’s 14 arrests.

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A former Nomad bikie boss, who was raised in the Middle East, has been unmasked as an alleged middleman for the mystery overseas kingpin who masterminded terrifying attacks on Sydney’s Jewish community by recruiting teenagers, low-level criminals and drug addicts to carry out his orders.

Sayed Moosawi, 32, was revealed to be the alleged mysterious “James Bond” who directed criminals to firebomb a Bondi brewery they mistook for a Jewish kosher deli in October.

The identity and location of the puppetmaster who “pulled the strings” for the near-five-month plot has not been disclosed, with Australian Federal Police investigators saying they have “an operational strategy” in place to bring him in.

Police believe the puppetmaster orchestrated the anti-Semitic arson and graffiti attacks – unsuccessfully – with the intention of using information about the scheme as leverage to lessen penalties in unrelated criminal proceedings.

Police have labelled the plot – which included an explosives-laden caravan – “a hoax”, alarming Jewish leaders who believe some in the community will now decry Australia’s very real anti-Semitism crisis as “fake”.

After Monday’s police raids, NSW police confirmed all 14 people arrested had since been charged with a litany of offences.

Investigators now believe the alleged “criminal group” and its ringleader had their fingers in almost all the anti-Semitic attacks being investigated by NSW police’s Strike Force Pearl, established in December to probe hate crimes.

Those range from the Dural caravan hoax, to the most severe anti-Semitic vandalism, including targeting Woollahra and synagogues, and also the firebombing of a Maroubra childcare centre.

Although police have not charged anyone yet in relation to the caravan, they had previously arrested suspects on the “periphery”: Tammie Farrugia and her partner, Scott Marshall. Both had been arrested previously over alleged involvement in the December arson and vandalism attack in Woollahra.

The alleged mastermind conscripted almost 30 people: from criminals for hire, drug addicts and teenagers, to co-ordinators and “middle men”.

For example, on the NSW Central Coast, Zac Hall, 18, and Ryan Hughes, 20, are alleged to have provided the cars used in February’s firebombing of a Maroubra childcare centre that caused more than $3m damage.

That group also allegedly enlisted Sydney woman Cassie Crowder, 26, who is charged with drug offences but also participating in the criminal enterprise.

Appearing at Sutherland Local Court on Tuesday, Ms Crowder – who remains in police custody – was heard to have a “meth addiction”, with her drug abuse having “taken off” since 2023 after a stillbirth and the breakdown of a long-term relationship.

Police allege, however, she was involved only “at the very lowest level”.

Ms Crowder was allegedly caught on CCTV footage with another of those arrested in Monday’s raids, Mohamad Hijazi, 40, who was charged with a litany of offences relating to three alleged cases of anti-Semitic vandalism across Sydney’s eastern suburbs in February. The court heard how police allege Ms Crowder was involved with Mr Hijazi’s procurement of the car he allegedly used in the vandalism, although she is not charged in relation to those incidents or the vehicle.

Appearing at Blacktown Local Court, 23-year-old Anthony Tannous, who also uses the last name Wiseman, was charged with offences related to the January anti-Semitic vandalism of cars in Queens Park, in Sydney’s east.

Strike Force Pearl arrested 29 people and laid 143 charges.

NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Dave Hudson said while many of the attacks, most notably the fake caravan plot, were intended by criminals to be used as “leverage”, the spate of rolling incidents was also intended to heighten societal tension.

“(The attacks before the caravan) were about causing chaos, threat, and angst, diverting police resources away from their day jobs,” he said.

Nomads bikie boss Moosawi was alleged to have directed criminals to firebomb a Bondi brewery they appeared to mistake for a Jewish kosher deli in October.

After they realised they hit the wrong target, police allege, Moosawi – known to his alleged guns-for-hire as “James Bond” – took matters into his own hands and destroyed the deli himself.

Moosawi, the Nomads’ Parramatta chapter chief as recently as 2021, denies the allegations and intends to fight the charges.

NSW police apprehended him on Monday and charged him with directing a criminal group, and two charges of destroying both the Curley Lewis Brewery and Lewis’ Continental Kitchen. In the case of the brewery, Moosawi’s charge relates to directing Craig Bantoft and Guy Finnegan to carry out the attack on October 17, whereas he himself is accused of destroying Lewis’ Kitchen, a kosher deli, a few days later.

After Bantoft and Finnegan torched the brewery they conversed on encrypted messaging chat Signal, revealing they had taken the orders from “James Bond”.

“James Bond” had told Finnegan and Bantoft that they’d “f..ked it up”, and that the target was barely burnt.

The scene outside Lewis Continental Kitchen last October. Picture: NewsWire / Monique Harmer

Bantoft asked whether “(James Bond) is paying us or nah”, and Finnegan responded: “I’m starting to think he has sent us to the wrong place lol.”

Moosawi entered not guilty pleas at Waverley Local Court on Tuesday.

Finnegan and Bantoft previously pleaded guilty to their involvement in the brewery attack. Two other men are before the courts accused of also carrying out the Bondi deli arson attack.

Australian Federal Police Deputy Commissioner Krissy Barrett said authorities had become “increasingly concerned” that while “crime as a service” had long existed, its “intersection with national security” had not, calling it an “extremely concerning shift”.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin said it remained “critical” that governments continued to treat anti-Semitism as “the grave and persistent threat that it is”.

“There is strong concern in the community that the characterisation of the Dural incident as a ‘hoax’ has led to the denial or diminishing of the severity of the anti-Semitism crisis and has empowered dark, conspiratorial elements of our society,” he said

“The Jewish community now has to contend with anti-Semitism emanating from violent criminal gangs as well as familiar ideological and political sources.”

David Lewis, president of Sydney’s The Great Synagogue, listed as one of the Jewish “targets” of the caravan plot, said the incident succeeded in causing “psychological terror”.

“While we are relieved to find that the caravan plot was not aimed to cause casualty, it’s important to note that this is not a stand-alone incident,“ he said.

“No matter the intention of the caravan plot, or the ideology of the people involved, we cannot let this divert attention away from the ongoing issue … the Jewish community in Sydney remains at risk.”

The developments have prompted stoushes in the NSW and federal parliaments, centred on who knew what and when, and accusations of leaders “politicising” incidents for political gain.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke accused Peter Dutton of making public comments that were “exactly what organised crime wanted the narrative to be” in relation to the Dural caravan, saying the Opposition Leader had been “reckless with national security”, using the incident for his “self-promotion ambitions”.

“The script that Peter Dutton was running was exactly what organised crime wanted the narrative to be. They may as well have written (his) words for him,” Mr Burke said, calling it the “definition of reckless”.

The Dural road near where the caravan was found. Picture: NewsWire / Damian Shaw

But Coalition home affairs spokesman James Paterson accused Mr Burke of trying to deflect from the government’s failure to more quickly get on top of the incidents. “Tony Burke is engaging in reckless politicisation of national security briefings in a desperate attempt to distract from Labor’s failings on community safety,” Senator Paterson said.

The Coalition said since January 22 it had discussed with ASIO the caravan incident and there was never “any mention whatsoever of a hoax”.

NSW Premier Chris Minns had first labelled the caravan a potential “mass casualty event” and “terrorism”, but on Tuesday defended his comments, saying that despite the revelations “the terror and fear that was struck by these individuals was real”.

“It still happened, and it was appalling for the community, particularly the Jewish community in NSW,” he said, adding it was appropriate to “jump to the worst-case scenario”.

“Obviously, when it was discovered, we and the NSW police took it equally seriously, and it could have been a mass casualty event.

“I think anyone or any reasonable person in those circumstances would expect the government and the police to jump to the worst-case scenario.”

But NSW upper house deputy president Rod Roberts said he had “grave concerns” as to whether the chamber was “not informed” of the full circumstances of the Dural caravan when it “rushed” through new hate-speech laws last month.