Police circle anti-Semitic vandalism, lay more charges on caravan terror suspect

NSW Police have laid new charges against alleged anti-Semitic vandal Scott Marshall, also releasing CCTV footage of separate suspects in the statewide spate of hate crimes with potential links to organised crime.

Scott Marshall has been charged for his alleged part in a vandalism attack in Woollahra on December 11, alongside his partner Tammie Farrugia who was previously arrested in connection to the anti-Semitic attack.

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NSW Police have laid new charges against alleged anti-Semitic vandal Scott Marshall, also releasing CCTV footage of separate suspects in the statewide spate of hate crimes with potential links to organised crime.

Mr Marshall, 36, was on Tuesday alleged by police to be connected to an anti-Semitic vandalism attack in the eastern Sydney suburb of Woollahra last year. He was already in custody at Parklea Correctional Centre on separate charges.

His new charges are participate criminal group contribute criminal activity, destroy or damage property accessory before the fact to an offence, and take and drive conveyance without consent of owner. Following his arrest he was not granted bail, and will once again face court on April 3.

Mr Marshall and his partner Tammie Farrugia, 34, were investigated after a caravan was found by a roadside in Dural loaded with mining explosives, along with a list of addresses including the Sydney Jewish Museum and the Great Synagogue. The pair were named on a search warrant after police were alerted to the possible threat. Neither has been charged in relation to that matter.

Ms Farrugia had previously been linked to the Woollahra attack. She was arrested on January 20 and is set to front court on April 3.

Detective Superintendent Darren Newman, commander of Strike Force Pearl. Picture: NewsWire / Simon Bullard

On Wednesday, Detective Superintendent Darren Newman, the lead NSW police officer behind the state’s anti-Semitism task force dubbed Strike Force Pearl, declined to address the Dural investigation, but said the door was still open to any number of anti-Semitic attacks being connected to organised crime or international saboteurs.

While Superintendent Newman said detectives were still looking at “all avenues of investigation”, he argued the sophistication of the attacks suggested they were masterminded.

“It would appear from the investigation there is certainly a level of planning in these particular incidents. I’m not ruling out that it’s linked to organised crime,” he said.

The December 11 vandalism attack was the second such incident in Woollahra and came just days after the firebombing of Melbourne’s Adass synagogue. A car was set alight on Magney Street while properties were splattered with threats including “Kill Israiel” (sic). The culprits caused an estimated $20,000 damage.

Police will allege Mr Marshall and Ms Farrugia were in charge of securing the stolen cars used in the attack, and the jerry cans used to torch the vehicle. The “principal offenders” suspected to have carried out the vandalism are believed to still be on the loose.

Also evading police are two alleged vandals implicated in a string of attacks from January 30. On Wednesday, police released CCTV footage of two men driving in a Kia Stonic SUV bearing falsified number plates.

The pair are suspects in three different vandalism attacks on a Maroubra property and the neighbouring Mount Sinai College, the Eastgardens Westfield shopping centre and an Eastlakes home.

Police have released CCTV vision as they continue to investigate multiple anti-Semitic attacks across Sydney’s eastern suburbs. Picture: NSW Police

Police believe the men are implicated in the likely linked attacks, and charted their course through the night in question. They were first seen on the M5 near Kingsgrove Road at 5.20am, before reaching the Maroubra crime scene 20 minutes later. It proceeded to Westfield at 5.57am, then Eastlakes at 6.20.

The driver was described as having a “large build” and wearing a baseball cap. The “thin”, “caucasian” passenger wore a blue jumper lined orange on the inside, and a white mask.