NSW Police make arrests over explosive-laden caravan found in Dural with alleged list of Jewish targets

A caravan found laden with explosives seemingly bound for a synagogue that put the nation on high alert over fears of a large-scale anti-Semitic attack, has been instead revealed as a “fabricated terror plot” masterminded by organised crime figures.

Speaking at a press conference Monday, Australian Federal Police Deputy Commissioner Krissy Barrett confirmed the incident was “essentially, a criminal con job”.

“Regardless of the motivation of those responsible for this fake plot, it has had a chilling effect on the Jewish community,” she said. This twisted self-serving criminality has terrorised Australians.

“What organised crime has done to the Jewish community is reprehensible, and it won’t go without consequences.”

The news came after NSW Police revealed 250 investigators carried out 11 search warrants on Monday, resulting in 14 people in custody and 49 charges related to Strike Force Pearl — the anti-Semitism investigation — and Operation Kissinger — the caravan explosives investigation.

The caravan was discovered in the semi-rural suburb of Dural in NSW on January 19, along with a note allegedly listing a number of synagogues as targets. The Sydney man who found the caravan towed it onto his property, waiting weeks before cutting open the padlocked door, finding the explosives.

At the time, police said the amount of explosives inside the caravan could have created a 40m blast zone, which would have been a “potential mass casualty event”.

However, within hours of the caravan being found, Ms Barrett said any perceived threat was mitigated.

“Almost immediately, experienced investigators within the joint counter-terrorism team believed that the caravan was part of a fabricated terrorist plot, essentially a criminal con job,” she said.

“This was because of the information they already had, how easily the caravan was found and how visible the explosives were in the caravan. Also, there was no detonator. “

She revealed the caravan was “never going to cause a mass casualty event but instead was concocted by criminals who wanted to cause fear for personal benefit”.

“The caravan plot was an elaborate scheme contrived by organised criminals domestically and from offshore,” Ms Barrett said.

When asked about motive, the Deputy Commissioner said while the investigation was ongoing, it was possible those involved wanted to “leverage the exchange of information to law enforcement” for “some sort of personal gain mostly around sentence reduction”.

“We believe the person pulling the strings wanted changes to their criminal status but maintained a distance from their scheme and hired alleged local criminals to carry out parts of their plan,” she said.

Ms Barrett said while that could have been the case, it never reached that point as police were alerted to the caravan.

While a number of arrests have been made in relation to Operation Pearl anti-Semitic offences, the person believed to be “pulling the strings” in relation to the caravan plot, Operation Kissinger, has not yet been arrested. Investigations are ongoing.

“We are looking at a number of targets offshore, and looking at how that is interacting with local organised crime figures,” Ms Barrett said, adding there were also targets onshore and “ongoing strategies in play”.

“A number of people have been identified as part of this fake terrorism plot and the AFP is working with local and overseas law enforcement officials in our bid to have all of those responsible brought to justice,” she said.

NSW Police Deputy Commissioner David Hudson said he hoped the 14 arrests made would offer “some comfort” to the Jewish community.

“There were a variety of charges across the 14 individuals,” he said. “They range from participating in a criminal group to conducting arson attacks to providing vehicles, to stealing vehicles, to claiming vehicles and a variety of other offences including some matters that we detected at the execution of the search warrant such as drugs and other things.”

The deputy commissioner said the fake plot “was about causing chaos within the community, causing threat, and causing angst”.

“It was about diverting police resources away from their day jobs, to have them focus on matters that would allow them to get up to or engage in other criminal activity,” he explained, reiterating it was out of personal gain.

About 100 State and Federal police and ASIO officers were tasked with investigating the caravan, during a rise of anti-Semitic attacks across the country, mostly in Sydney and Melbourne.

“It is deeply distressing this is happening in this State,” NSW Premier Chris Minns said at the time the caravan was discovered.

“I never thought in Australia, in 2025, we would see this level of racism or anti-Semitism.”

Mr Minns assured the community at the time that those committing “hateful acts of violence, graffiti, malicious damage in our community will be met with the full force of the law”.