The alleged mastermind of a “fabricated terrorist plot” that shocked the nation has been revealed.
The Daily Telegraph has named Sydney businessman and accused drug trafficker Sayet Erhan Akca as the individual who police believe was behind the caravan terror hoax as well as 14 antisemitic attacks dating back to October.
Police revealed on Monday that a caravan found laden with explosives on January 19 was “never going to cause a mass casualty event” and was part of a “criminal con job” set up as part of an individual’s elaborate attempt to change their criminal status.
According to the Daily Telegraph, police believe Akca was hoping to provide information about the explosives-laden caravan to police in exchange for a more lenient sentence.
The 35-year-old former gym owner is also believed to have been behind 14 antisemitic attacks since late last year, including the firebombing of a childcare centre at Maroubra, and multiple graffiti attacks in the eastern suburbs
All of the (Strike Force) Pearl matters, I’m suggesting, the 14 incidents and the caravan job, are all being orchestrated by the same individuals,” NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Dave Hudson said on Monday.
Akca was arrested in 2021 and charged with attempting to import 600kg of illicit drugs using the messaging app ANOM.
But facing a possible life sentence, the 35 year old fled Australia on a boat while on bail in 2023, leaving behind his wife Georgia and their young child.
He is believed to have been travelling between Asia and Turkey ever since.
On Monday AFP Deputy Commissioner Krissy Barrett said police believed the then-unnamed individual responsible for the “fabricated terrorist plot” had been hiring local criminals as part of an elaborate plan.
“We believe the person pulling the strings wanted changes to their criminal status but maintained a distance from their scheme, and hired local criminals to carry out parts of their plan. However, the plan was foiled,” Ms Barrett said.
She said police knew from “very early on” that the caravan was part of a hoax.
“Put simply, the plan was the following: Organise someone to buy a caravan, place it with explosives and written material of anti-Semitic nature, leave it in a specific location and then once that happens, inform law enforcement about an impending terror attack against Jewish Australians,” she said.
The naming of Akca comes as NSW Premier Chriss Minns rejected calls to repeal hate speech laws rushed through parliament last month in order to combat the scourge of antisemitic incidents plaguing the city.
The NSW Greens have accused the Minns government of having “massively overreacted and jumped the gun with their kneejerk overreaching criminal laws”.
“A crime syndicate or individual has abused uneasiness in the community and goaded the NSW government into whipping up community fear and division over anti-Semitism,” Greens MLC Sue Higginson said.
The NSW Council for Civil Liberties has also called for an inquiry into whether the Premier “misled the parliament and public in order to pass the Places of Worship Bill and the Inciting Racial Hatred Bill”.
“The Minns Labor government has played right into the hands of those who concocted the caravan plot in using it to drive a repressive and fear-based legislative agenda that has further divided the community,” President Timothy Roberts said.
However Mr Minns has defended his government’s actions, declaring they would “not be reappealing” the laws.
“Our laws criminalised intentionally and publicly inciting hatred towards another person, or group, based on race,” the Premier said.
“They send a clear message: the people of NSW stand together against inciting racial hatred in our great multicultural state.
Mr Minns said that even though the caravan was part of a criminal conspiracy, and was not part of a real terrorist plot, it still counted as “appalling racial hatred”.
“It targeted the Jewish community. It targeted a racial group to instil terror in our state.
“[Repealing the laws] would be a toxic message to our community that this kind of hate speech is acceptable when it’s not.”
