The caravan, which was found in north-western Sydney on 19 January, contained enough explosives to produce a 40m-wide blast, along with a note displaying antisemitic messages and a list of Jewish synagogues.

Its discovery, following a spate of antisemitic attacks in Australia, triggered widespread panic.

But on Monday, Australian Federal Police (AFP) revealed that they knew “almost immediately” that the caravan was “essentially a criminal con job”.

AFP’s deputy commissioner of national security, Krissy Barrett, said investigators within the New South Wales Joint Counter Terrorism Team believed that the caravan was “part of a fabricated terrorism plot”.

Authorities arrived at that belief based on information they already had, the ease with which they found the caravan and the visibility of the explosives contained inside – as well as the fact that there was no detonator.

Yet police refrained from telling the public that they believed the plot was fake “out of an abundance of caution”, as they continued to receive tip-offs about other related terror plots. They are now confident that these tip-offs were also fabricated, Ms Barrett said.

The fake caravan plot involved several people with different levels of involvement, according to police. Between them, they had planned to purchase a caravan, load it with explosives and antisemitic materials and leave it in a specific location, before informing law enforcement about “an impending terror attack against Jewish Australians”.

Ms Barrett described it as “an elaborate scheme contrived by organised criminals, domestically and from offshore”, adding that the leader of the plot maintained a distance and hired alleged local criminals to carry out parts of the operation.

That individual is a known organised crime figure, Ms Barrett confirmed. She also added that while no arrests had been made in relation to the incident, police have a number of ongoing targets both in Australia and offshore.

“Too many criminals are accused of paying others to carry out antisemitic or terrorism incidents to get our attention or divert our resources,” Ms Barrett said. She also noted that police believe “the person pulling the strings wanted changes to their criminal status”.

BBC News contacted AFP for more details on the suspected agenda of those behind the caravan hoax, but received no further comment.

“Regardless of the motivation of those responsible for this fake plot, this has had a chilling effect on the Jewish community,” Ms Barrett said in her statement.

“What organised crime has done to the Jewish community is reprehensible, and it won’t go without consequence. There was also unwarranted suspicion directed at other communities – and that is also reprehensible.”

Separately, New South Wales police arrested 14 people on Monday morning as part of Strike Force Pearl: a police operation established in December 2024 to investigate antisemitic hate crimes across Sydney.

The establishment of the Strike Force followed a string of antisemitic attacks in Australia in late-2024, including the vandalism of a Jewish school in Sydney’s eastern suburbs and the arson of a childcare centre, which was set alight and sprayed with antisemitic messages.

Speaking to the media on Monday, police said they believed all those incidents had a “common source” with the caravan plot.

“The caravan job was orchestrated by the same individual or individuals that were orchestrating the Pearl incidents,” said NSW Police deputy commissioner David Hudson.

Mr Hudson further noted, however, that “none of the individuals we have arrested during Pearl have displayed any form of antisemitic ideology.”

“I think what these organised crime heads have done is play to vulnerabilities in the community,” he later explained.

“Obviously there have been antisemitic attacks of a lower nature, and a lot of anger and angst in the community – we’ve seen that since October 7th, 2023… And I think these organised crime figures have taken an opportunity to play on the vulnerability of the Jewish community.”

Sam Nordquist, a 24-year-old originally from Minnesota, was reported missing on 9 February. He had arrived in New York in September and later lost contact with loved ones, police said.

In a televised news conference on Friday, police said the case is “one of the most horrific crimes” they had ever seen and that Nordquist was subjected to “deeply disturbing” abuse for several months, starting in December.

All five suspects are being held in police custody, and all are facing second-degree murder charges.

The accused, all from the area near where Nordquist’s body was discovered in northern New York, are: Precious Arzuaga, Patrick Goodwin, Kyle Sage, Jennifer Quijano, and Emily Motyka. They range in age from 19 to 38.

It is unclear if any of the five suspects had obtained a lawyer. In the US legal system, they are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.

Police said Nordquist’s body was discovered in a field on Thursday in the town of Benton, located around 53 miles (85 kilometres) southeast of Rochester.

They said they searched a room about 20 miles away from where the body was found, where they uncovered that Nordquist had suffered “prolonged physical and psychological abuse at the hands of multiple individuals” from early December until this month.

Police said they believe the victim lived at a motel with one of the suspects and others. They did not offer many specific details, saying their investigation is ongoing.

But Major Kevin Sucher of the New York State Police said the facts and circumstances of the case were “beyond depraved” and “by far the worst” homicide investigation his office had undertaken.

“No human being should have to endure what Sam endured,” Major Sucher said.

Asked if the death is being treated as a hate crime, police said they had not ruled it out but added that their investigation remains active.

Captain Kelly Swift with the New York State Police said police are still working to determine Nordquist’s relationship with the suspects, as well as the suspects’ relationship with one another.

The death has been met with shock and anguish by members of the LGBTQ community.

Rochester LGBTQ+ Together, a local advocacy group, said it was “angered and disgusted” to learn about the murder.

“The epidemic of violence against Trans folx in this country is a direct consequence of the ignorance and hatred that permeate our society,” the group said.

In a statement, three Rochester city council members – Mary Lupien, Stanley Martin and Kim Smith – said that hostility toward transgender people is rising.

“We reaffirm our commitment to protecting Trans rights, ensuring safety for all and wish to make clear that you belong—fully, openly, and without fear,” they wrote.

A 2021 study released by University of California, Los Angeles revealed that transgender people are over four times more likely than others to experience violence.

They said Janet Finch-Saunder, MS for Aberconwy, had told the media “incorrect” and “misleading” crime statistics about the town which they said could cost the economy.

Ms Finch-Saunders said she is “baffled” by comments made about her by the chiefs as the statistics were given to her by the West Conwy coastal chief inspector.

“No-one talks Llandudno up more than I do,” she said, “which is why we can’t still be having these anti-social behaviour issues.”

The row broke out following a meeting last week about rates of anti-social behaviour in Llandudno, Conwy country, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The meeting was organised following complaints about vandalism carried out by gangs of young people smashing up shelters on the promenade, stealing from hotels, and vandalising the Venue Cymru theatre.

North Wales Police said Ms Finch-Saunders claimed there were 389 youth crimes in the area last year, but there were actually 198.

Police and Crime Commissioner Andy Dunbobbin said the statistics “clearly show a sustained drop in reported incidents over recent months” and said reducing anti-social behaviour is “hugely important” to him.

He added that reports of criminal behaviour are “being dealt with accordingly” but that “subsequent inflammatory statements from some around the meeting and the current situation in Llandudno risk giving the town an undue and misleading reputation for criminality”.

Mr Dunbobbin said: “This would be detrimental for any town, but for a town reliant on visitors, anything that could discourage them from coming would be extremely unfortunate.”

He added that damaged shelters were only reported on the fourth occasion but “despite this, a suspect was identified, and they are currently going through the Youth Justice system for a number of offences”.

The police force was also angered by Ms Finch-Saunders plea to residents to log 101 calls and share them with her office.

It urged residents to call 999 in emergencies, and 101 or web-chat for non-emergency situations.

Assistant Chief Constable Gareth Evans said: “This gives us the best chance of dealing with incidents in a timely manner, assessing the risk threat and harm to the community, as well as informing us where any ‘hotspots’ occur, so that appropriate resources can be directed where they are needed most.”

Ms Finch-Saunders said she had been “shocked” by the stats which were revealed at the meeting.

She said a figure of 389 youth crime incidents was given for last year by West Conwy Coastal Chief Inspector Trystan Bevan – and minutes proving this would be circulated.

Ms Finch-Saunders said the stats had been “spun” and she was “unhappy” that comments had been made about her, rather than efforts going in to fixing the problem.

“Only last week a constituent called in to my office to say a shelter on the prom had been vandalised again. They hadn’t reported it because they said they had no faith anything would be done,” she said.

The MS said it was likely she had “shaken a few chains” in highlighting the issues, and she had wanted them to be “under no illusion”, but she said it was not true that she was “talking the town down”.

She said she is now seeking a meeting with the chief constable of North Wales Police, Amanda Blakeman.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) said on Monday that they had charged 11 men and two juveniles after tracking a fishing boat that allegedly travelled to meet a mother ship loaded with cocaine off the coast of Queensland.

After the boat broke down 18km (10 nautical miles) off the coast, police carried out multiple arrests and seized 2.3 tonnes of cocaine with a street value of 760 million Australian dollars ($494m), the AFP said.

The arrests followed a months-long investigation prompted by a tip-off that a motorcycle gang was planning to smuggle drugs into the country, AFP Commander Stephen Jay said.

“We know that criminals go to extreme lengths, and often risk their own lives, to smuggle drugs into Australia with no regard to the harm they cause to Australian communities,” Jay said.

“This alleged attempt to collect more than two tonnes of cocaine from the ocean shows that criminals will do anything for their own greed and profit. Anyone involved in these at-sea trafficking enterprises is not just risking their freedom – they’re also risking their life.”

 The arrested individuals, each of whom was charged with conspiracy to import a commercial quantity of border-controlled drugs, were expected to appear before court on Monday.

They face a maximum penalty of life imprisonment if convicted.

In 2023-24, Australian police seized 31.3 tonnes of illicit drugs and assisted international authorities in seizing 41.8 tonnes of drugs, according to the AFP.