Sydney caravan bomb plotter admits key role from Turkish hideout

The Age

04-05-2025

The suspected mastermind of the Dural caravan fake terror plot admits he sourced the explosives found in the vehicle, but denies involvement in a string of antisemitic attacks police say he orchestrated from overseas.
Sayit Erhan Akca says he approached authorities to arrange a 'trade-in', offering up the cache of explosives in exchange for a reduced sentence and to have his bail reinstated if he returned to Australia. Akca fled the country in mid-2023 after being arrested during the Australian Federal Police's Operation Ironside and charged with drug importation and proceeds of crime-related offences.
The discovery of the explosives in Sydney's north, along with a list of supposed Jewish targets, triggered panic, with NSW Premier Chris Minns declaring a 'potential mass-casualty event' had been avoided.
Almost two months later, the AFP declared there was no risk of such an event and that the plot was concocted by organised crime figures for their own benefit.
Akca, who is hiding out in Turkey, said he approached the AFP in December, and claims he was told he could return to Australia if he handed the stolen mining explosives over. This masthead first revealed authorities' suspicions that the caravan was being leveraged by an underworld figure for a reduced sentence.
'I was giving them explosives,' he told the ABC's Four Corners.
'I said, 'Look, I've got information on a movement of explosives. I can seize it and I can hand it over'.'
Akca said he didn't purchase the stolen Powergel explosives, but instead intercepted them while they were being transported during a black-market sale.