NSW Police find explosives in caravan in Dural, Sydney: Live updates after attacks on synagogues and Jewish community
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A couple have been arrested on what police describe as the ‘periphery’ of a suspected anti-Semitic terror plot – after a caravan was found loaded with explosives.
For 12 days the caravan was left beside a property in Dural in northwest Sydney before a resident reported it, sparking a multi-agency probe into the suspected terror plot that could have led to an explosion impact up to 40metres across.
Police believe the incident could be linked to other anti-Semitic attacks in recent weeks, and said it had the potential to become a mass casualty event targeting the Jewish community.
Follow Daily Mail Australia’s live blog here for coverage on the anti-Semitic terror plot.
Deputy Commissioner Hudson said the investigation has been ‘compromised’ by the media
The deputy commissioner was asked about how the caravan information became public during a press conference on Thursday morning.
He said the information was leaked to the media and NSW Police was ‘not happy’ about the leaks.
‘There’s a number of agencies involved in relation to this investigation who were privy to the same investigation,’ Dep Comm Hudson said.
‘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.’
Leader of leading Jewish organisation ‘disappointed’ by police response
The NSW Police and NSW Government’s decision to keep the Jewish community in the dark has been criticised by one of Australia’s leading Jewish organisations.
Peter Wertheim, co-chief executive officer of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, said he was disappointed that the police didn’t inform Jewish groups about the existence of a caravan full of explosives.
‘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.
‘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.’
Couple are arrested on the ‘periphery’ of a suspected anti-Semitic terror plot in Sydney
It is understood the ‘periphery’ arrests were that of Tammie Farrugia, charged last week over an alleged anti-Semitic attack at Woollahra in December.
And the other arrest was Farrugia’s boyfriend Scott Marshall, who was charged late last year with weapons and drug offences to which he has pleaded not guilty.
The couple had posted on Facebook just last month asking to buy a caravan.
On December 6, Tammie Farrugia tagged her boyfriend, Scott Marshall, in a post that read: ‘Looking for a caravan for sale hit me up if U have one cheers’.
The arrests were made in relation to separate incidents, not the caravan – and as of Thursday morning Neither Farrugia or Marshall have been charged. There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing.
The caravan’s owner is in police custody after they were arrested previously over other alleged offences.
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