In late 2024 and early 2025, a series of anti-Semitic attacks took place across Australia’s eastern states. Mostly involving arson and graffiti, these attacks understandably struck terror into the hearts of Australia’s Jewish community. Australian police were quick to react and noted some alarming similarities among these seemingly disparate offenses: the use of encrypted communications in planning activities, consistent timing and tactics across different incidents, and a separation of duties among participants, suggesting an unexpected level of organization behind the random attacks.

Against this very public backdrop, a caravan was found in outer Sydney. Inside were explosives accompanied by a note that contained anti-Semitic material, referencing two buildings significant to Australia’s Jewish community, suggesting they were a target. But experienced investigators from the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and New South Wales Police identified several anomalies. The caravan was easy to find, and the explosives were not concealed—they were visible to anyone looking in the window. There was no detonation mechanism.

Subsequent investigations have led police to believe the alleged perpetrators may have been contracted to act by a known transnational serious organized crime (TSOC) figure. The plot is breathtaking in its audacity: create a fake terror threat, orchestrate a range of tip-offs, and provide information to the police in exchange for changes to their criminal status. And because of the current threat levels for both national security and TSOC in Australia, and the enduring complexity of both of those broad crime types, Australian authorities were obliged to treat the incident with an abundance of caution and at the highest level of threat until the plot could be unraveled.

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