‘Compromised’: Cops explode over leak in Sydney caravan case Anthony Albanese declares it an ‘act of terrorism’
Police said they are “not happy” details relating to a caravan set for a “mass casualty” anti-Semitic attack were leaked to the public.
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Police are “not happy” details relating to caravan packed with explosives strong enough to create a 40-metre blast radius in Sydney were leaked to media and made public.
The abandoned caravan was found by a local resident on the side of a road in Dural in northwest Sydney over a week ago on January 19.
After making the chilling discovery, the resident towed the caravan onto their property and notified the police.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has so far refused to reveal why police only made the discovery – which could have led to a “potential mass casualty event” – public 10 days later, and after a report by The Daily Telegraph on Wednesday night.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Dave Hudson expressed disappointment over the leak to the public.
“We’re not happy about that information being leaked but there’s a number of agencies involved in relation to this investigation who were privy to the same investigation,” he told reporters.
“We will re-strategise in relation to what activities we can pursue in an investigative sense based on media reporting and what’s known, and we will continue to try to find those responsible.”
NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said information now shared in the public domain had “compromised” the investigation.
“It’s very important that we maintain our community consultation, we involve the community, but there is a point where police practice and investigative strategy is not compromised,” she said.
The van contained powerful explosives believed to have been stolen from a mine site and strong enough to create a 40-metre blast wave, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.
A note containing the words “f*** the Jews” and addresses of Jewish people and a synagogue were also discovered in the caravan.
No plan to change national terrorism threat level
In a statement on Thursday afternoon, Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) Director-General Mike Burgess acknowledged there has been a “disturbing escalation in the targeting of Jewish interests, and a disturbing escalation in the severity and recklessness of the targeting”.
Mr Burgess said there were no plans “in the immediate future” to alter the current national terror threat level from “PROBABLE”.
“PROBABLE means probable – we assess there is a greater than 50 per cent chance of a domestic terrorist attack or attack planning in the next 12 months,” he said.
“The current terrorism threat level is the same as it was at the height of the Islamic State caliphate.”
The threat level was raised last August in anticipation of “spikes in politically-motivated violence”, Mr Burgess said.
“Unfortunately, the security environment has evolved almost exactly as we expected.”
ASIO does not believe the caravan matter presents an ongoing threat to public safety.
Couple’s Facebook post before reported arrest
Deputy Commissioner Hudson said on Wednesday arrests had been made “on the periphery of this job”.
In an update on Thursday, Commissioner Webb said the owner of the caravan was in police custody on “unrelated matters”.
“I don’t want to speculate too much more, but it’s important that the public understands that not only is the caravan been removed and the contents removed from harm, from public … but also the owner is out of play and in custody,” she said.
Deputy Commissioner Hudson said a man was in custody based on offences being investigated under Strike Force Pearl.
“At the time the caravan was located, he was in custody,” he said.
According to The Daily Telegraph, a couple, who shared a post on social about buying a caravan last month, have been arrested on the “periphery” of the investigation.
Police sources identified the pair as Tammie Farrugia, who has been charged over a separate alleged anti-Semitic attack at Woollahra in December, and her boyfriend Scott Marshall, who has pleaded guilty to unrelated weapons and drug offences.
On December 6, Ms Farrugia reportedly shared a post on Facebook claiming she was” looking for a caravan for sale”.
“Hit me up if U have one cheers,” she wrote.
The following day, a caravan had been parked on the side of the road in Dural, police said.
Ms Farrugia nor Mr Marshall have been charged and there is no suggestion of any wrongdoing.
Minns says silence was the ‘right decision’
NSW Premier Chris Minns has defended the call to keep the discovery a secret from the public, labelling it the “right decision”.
“If the police believe that covert means are the best way of locking up people who are responsible for these actions, that’s what needs to happen,” he told reporters on Thursday morning.
“I back the police in relation to this. The right decision was made, notwithstanding the fact we want to get as much information into the public domain as we can as early as we can.”
Mr Albanese said he agreed with Mr Minns’ assertion it was an “act of terrorism”, but remained tight-lipped about the delayed report to public.
“I don’t go into operational details. The important things here are two things. One is that the priority must be keeping Australians safe. And in this case, this incident has been discovered, people have been held to account about ongoing investigations. And that’s the second thing that needs to happen, is that the job of politicians is to support our security agencies,” he told ABC Radio on Thursday.
Police and Mr Minns only addressed the public about a potential caravan attack on Wednesday evening, after it was reported by The Daily Telegraph.
Police insisted the “very serious threat” was kept quiet to aid with the investigation.
“There are ongoing investigations which need to be conducted. Ideally, those investigations are conducted with some form of anonymity,” said Deputy Commissioner Hudson.
Mr Minns was briefed on the issue on January 20, the day after the caravan was discovered.
The following day, the Premier made no mention of the potential attack when speaking to Sky News host Sharri Markson about the “escalating” threats to the Jewish community.
“They are escalating and I think it’s important I say that. I don’t want anyone to have the impression that we are trying to sweep this under the carpet or suggest that it’s not a major issue,” Mr Minns told Markson.
“This is the central priority of the government at the moment and (of) NSW Police. We are horrified by it.”
Call for answers
Shadow Minister for Home Affairs and Cyber Security James Paterson said the Prime Minister needs to explain why the incident was kept secret.
“The Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs must explain when they were first briefed on this matter, what action they took to protect the community and why they thought it was appropriate to keep it a secret for this long,” he wrote on X.
Peter Wertheim, co-chief executive officer of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, said officials should have informed Jewish groups about the discovery.
“I think they should have told us earlier, before it hit the media, because the impact on the community then could have been managed,” he said on Thursday.
“It’s always better to face your fears when you understand what you’re facing, rather than to be presented with something out of the blue. And so whilst there might have been some justification for secrecy in the initial stage of the investigation, I think that time had long passed.”
Minns slams new “appalling” attack on school
Mr Minns also condemned an attack on a Jewish school in Sydney’s eastern suburbs overnight.
Mount Sinai College in Maroubra and a nearby home were spray painted with antisemitic graffiti.
“It is utterly appalling and shameful that an individual would spray racist hate-filled messages on a school,” Mr Minns told reporters on Thursday.
“It tells you everything you need to know about how appalling these bastards are that they would rip apart a school on one of the first days of school with a racist anti-Semitic attack,” he continued.
“There are some terrible people in our community. I’m ashamed to say it – but that’s the truth. ”It’s antithetical against everything that Australia believes in 2025.”
Mr Minns urged Australians to come forward and report information to the police to “send a clear and unambiguous message that Australians will not stand for this kind of violent, hate-filled, racist attack in Australia in 2025”.
“If you know of anybody who’s committed these offences, or you know of anyone who potentially could commit these offences, it’s your duty to come forward and provide that information to Crime Stoppers and NSW Police … Dob them in. Help New South Wales police clean up our streets.”
“Certainly an escalation”
Deputy Commissioner Hudson said the incident involving the caravan – which comes after the former home of Jewish leader Alex Ryvchin was vandalised in Dover Heights and a Maroubra childcare centre was firebombed and tagged with anti-Semitic graffiti – had marked an “escalation” in anti-Semitic attacks.
“The discovery and detection of the caravan, contained with an amount of explosives, was not going to be in the normal anti-Semitic attack that we have seen occur in Sydney, such as graffiti and arson attacks,” he said.
“This is certainly an escalation of that, with the use of explosives, that have the potential to cause a great deal of damage.”
Over 100 officers have been brought in to investigate the incident.
Strike Force Pearl was earlier established to investigate anti-Semitic attacks in Sydney.
“We believe there is some connection between some of the targets we’ve charged under Strikeforce Pearl in this particular investigation,” Deputy Commissioner Hudson said.
He added there was no information to indicate there were “further explosives in our community in relation to conducting anti-Semitic attacks anywhere”.
“We believe that we have contained appropriately this current threat,” he said.
“We will not rest until these matters are resolved.
“We understand the concerns of the community, we understand the concerns of the Jewish community, and we take all these threats exceptionally seriously.”
Mr Minns said the “full resources of the state of NSW and NSW Police have been deployed to confront this very serious threat to our community”.
“I want to make it absolutely clear – and I understand community concerns about this story and similar escalating incidents of anti-Semitic violence in our community – that anyone attempting terrorism, violence, hatred in our community will be met with the full force of the law.”
Mr Albanese has said the government “unequivocally” condemns the act.
“The full might of the AFP, ASIO and NSW Police are being utilised in this major investigation by the Joint Counter Terrorism Team,” he said in a statement on Wednesday.
“The NSW Police have people in custody and continue with other agencies, including those involved in AFP Special Operation Avalite to investigate threats, violence and hatred towards the Australian Jewish community, and take action and hold people to account for crimes.
“Hate and extremism have no place in Australian society.”
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