Second Newtown synagogue arrest looms as Premier Chris Minns praises police investigators

Police are poised to make a second arrest after charging a Sydney man for attempting to torch a synagogue, while police remain coy on potential financial incentives for alleged crimes after debit cards seized.

Adam Mouele, 33, is arrested over the Newtown synagogue attack. Picture: NSW Police

A Sydney man charged for allegedly attempting to torch a synagogue will spend a night in remand with police claiming to have found stolen debit cards in his possession, as they closed in on a second arrest.

NSW Police arrested 33-year-old Pyrmont man Adam Moule on Tuesday for allegedly vandalising Newtown Synagogue in Sydney’s inner west with Nazi symbols and trying, unsuccessfully, to set it on fire. He was taken into custody at 7.40pm and charged with multiple offences, including destroying property using fire and stolen goods.

In the wake of the arrest, police seized some of his belongings for inspection. By 12.40pm on Wednesday, according to a court attendance notice, police found “five debit cards with different financial institutions and in different names which may be reasonably suspected of being stolen or otherwise unlawfully obtained”.

Mr Moule was set to appear before Deputy Chief Magistrate Sharon Freund at the Downing Centre Local Court before the discovery. His hearing was deferred until Thursday.

Adam Moule is taken away in a police van. Picture: NSW Police

Critical to the arrest was CCTV from the scene which captured two hooded men, dressed in black, spray painting Nazi symbols on the synagogue’s fence on January 11. They then appear to pour clear fluid onto the building in an alleged attempt to burn the premises.

NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb on Wednesday said that the second man could be arrested “shortly” as investigators closed their net, while spruiking her investigators’ “strong leads” in regards to an earlier vandalism attack at an Allawah synagogue and Tuesday’s firebombing of a childcare centre.

It comes as state leaders vowed “no stone would be left unturned” as police continued to investigate a recent spate of anti-Semitic attacks, warning criminals to “expect a visit”.

Speaking in Sydney, NSW Premier Chris Minns praised the “excellent police work”.

“Resources are in place to catch people who are (allegedly) responsible for committing hate crimes on Sydney’s streets, it will not be tolerated,” he said.

“(We) stand united against this deliberate attempt to strike terror into the hearts of people.

“ Together as a community we will overcome it.”

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw on Tuesday said “intelligence” suggested that foreign actors could be paying local criminals in cryptocurrency to commit anti-Semitic attacks.

However, Ms Webb wouldn’t be drawn as to whether that was an active line of inquiry in regards to Moule, saying the motive was “not yet clearly established”, refusing to clarify if any foreign interference was by individuals or states.

“I’ve got a conference with my commissioner colleagues this afternoon, and if the AFP have relevant information to our investigations, we need to have that information,” she said.

NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb, left, and Premier Chris Minns arrive in Sydney to front the media. Picture: Nikki Short.

Nine people have now been charged under Strike Force Pearl, including those four men, three men after 10 vehicles and buildings were allegedly deliberately damaged in Woollahra in November, and a woman charged for her alleged involvement in a second Woollahra attack.

NSW Jewish Board of Deputies president David Ossip welcomed Wednesday’s arrest, saying it was “essential” to “restoring deterrence and rebuilding community confidence”.

After Tuesday’s attack in Maroubra, the NSW Faith Affairs Council called on faith and community leaders to collectively condemn the hatred, and the influential Australian National Imams Council condemned the firebombing, saying such a crime had “no place” in society.

Mr Minns joined his state and territory counterparts on Tuesday after Anthony Albanese convened national cabinet after the Only About Children Maroubra centre was firebombed and vandalised with anti-Semitic slurs.

He said the meeting was “collegiate” and that a national approach to legislation and response to anti-Semitism would pay dividends, refusing to criticise the Prime Minister for not convening it sooner.

Alexi Demetriadi

James Dowling