Explosives-filled caravan was planted by criminals to play on fears of antisemitic attacks, Australian police say
A fake plan to attack a Sydney synagogue using a caravan of explosives was fabricated by an organized crime network in order to divert police resources, Australian police said.
SYDNEY — A fake plan to attack a Sydney synagogue using a caravan of explosives was fabricated by an organized crime network in order to divert police resources, Australian police said Monday.
Authorities in January found explosives in a caravan, or trailer, that could have created a blast wave of about 130 feet, along with the address of a Sydney synagogue.
But police said Monday that the discovery was part of a “criminal con job,” with the ease with which the caravan was found along with the lack of a detonator suggesting there was never any intent to attack Jewish targets.
“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,” Krissy Barrett, the Australian Federal Police’s deputy commissioner for national security, told a news conference.
“Almost immediately, experienced investigators ... believed that the caravan was part of a fabricated terrorism plot — essentially a criminal con job.”
Rating: 5