Latest news with #SayitAkca
The Guardian
05-05-2025
- The Guardian
Alleged mastermind behind Sydney's ‘fake terrorism plot' denies wider responsibility but admits ‘I picked Dural'
The man alleged to have masterminded a spate of antisemitic attacks in Sydney and a 'fake terrorism' caravan plot has denied responsibility – but admits he was involved in having the caravan moved. In January, police discovered a caravan packed with explosives in the outer Sydney suburb of Dural, triggering a massive multi-agency investigation. Former gym owner and alleged drug dealer Sayit Akca has told Four Corners he was able to divert the caravan – which he says was being moved between an illicit buyer and seller – and informed the Australian federal police (AFP) about the explosives in an attempt to gain more lenient treatment in the courts. Akca was charged in 2022 with conspiring to import a commercial quantity of illicit drugs and recklessly engaging with the proceeds of crime. He did not attend a scheduled court appearance at Sydney's Downing Centre local court on 28 September 2023. He is now in Turkey, according to the ABC. Court documents seen by Guardian Australia allege Akca was smuggled out of Australia to Thailand via Thursday Island in September 2023. Akca told ABC's Four Corners he fled Australia after he was charged partly because he feared he was a possible target of other criminals. But, because he missed his son in Australia, he had approached authorities to organise a 'trade-in' – hoping it would assist his return. He said he did not buy the explosives and but directed the driver of the caravan to leave it in a 'safe spot' and remove the detonators. He denied any knowledge of a note listing Jewish community targets that New South Wales police alleged was found inside the caravan. 'I actually picked Dural and I just told the driver … to just put it in a safe spot,' Akca said, according to the ABC. In the months leading to the discovery of the caravan – which the NSW premier, Chris Minns, initially said was capable of being a 'mass casualty event' – Sydney and its large Jewish community were rocked by a spate of firebombing and graffiti attacks, including on a child care centre and synagogues. In March, police said the caravan was part of a 'fake terrorism plot' allegedly orchestrated by organised criminals for personal gain. Police alleged the 'con job' was fabricated by organised crime figures for personal benefit and that the undisclosed figures were based in Australia and offshore. The AFP deputy commissioner Krissy Barrett alleged in March that: 'We believe the person pulling the strings wanted changes to their criminal status but maintained a distance from their scheme and hired alleged local criminals to carry out parts of their plan.' Barrett said the incidents were designed to gain the police's attention and divert resources with alleged offenders 'accepting these tasks for money'. 'Put simply, the plan was the following: organise for someone to buy a caravan, place it with explosives and written material of antisemitic nature, leave it in a specific location and then, once that happened, inform law enforcement about an impending terror attack against Jewish Australians.' The plot was 'never going to cause a mass casualty event', police said. Akca told the ABC this week that he 'removed something off the street and gave it to [the AFP]. And then there's a bunch of other things they're alleging was me. But I deny it. Doesn't match my timeline'. Sign up to Morning Mail Our Australian morning briefing breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion After supplying the AFP with further information about explosives as part of his bid for leniency, Akca gave up on the hope of returning to Australia, he told Four Corners. In April, it emerged that a senior NSW police officer signed a non-disclosure agreement when told by the AFP in early February that the motivation of the 'mastermind' behind Sydney's fake terrorism caravan plot was to influence prosecutions. The AFP said on Monday that it questioned 'the motivation of the individual interviewed by Four Corners'. 'That person has been charged by the AFP for an alleged illicit drug importation, which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment,' an AFP spokesperson said. 'That person is also accused of unlawfully leaving Australia while on bail.' On Monday, NSW police told Guardian Australia: 'Operation Kissinger is an investigation by the joint counter terrorism team (JCTT) comprising members of NSW police force, Australian federal police, NSW crime commission and Asio. 'The NSW police force is committed to preventing and disrupting any threat to the safety and wellbeing of the community and has been working collaboratively with our partner agencies under JCTT arrangements to investigate terrorist activities, since its establishment in 2002.' NSW police said a number of people connected to the investigation had been charged and remained before the courts, and, for 'operational reasons', would not comment further. Guardian Australia contacted Akca for comment.
ABC News
05-05-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
VIDEO: Sayit Akca speaks to Four Corners' Mahmood Fazal in Türkiye.
Sayit Akca speaks to Four Corners' Mahmood Fazal in Türkiye, where he is on the run from Australian authorities.
ABC News
04-05-2025
- ABC News
Sayit Akca admits involvement in Dural caravan of explosives but denies orchestrating antisemitic attacks
Sayit Akca, the man accused of orchestrating a series of antisemitic attacks in Sydney, has spoken exclusively to Four Corners, admitting he was involved in sourcing a caravan full of explosives. Speaking from his hideout in Türkiye, Akca denied he was the mastermind behind a spree of antisemitic attacks and insisted he was helping authorities get explosives off the street. The discovery of the caravan in a Sydney suburb came after months of firebombing and antisemitic graffiti that shocked the city and left its Jewish community reeling. Police levelled the blame at organised crime, alleging one self-motivated mastermind was pulling the strings and exploiting fear for their own self-interest. Akca, well-known in Sydney's criminal underworld, insisted that it was not him. A Sydney synagogue targeted in one of the antisemitic attacks. ( ABC News ) A deal to get home Akca had been on the run for more than a year when, he says, he asked a lawyer: "What would it take to get back?" A one-time gym owner and entrepreneur, Akca fled Australia in 2023 after being charged with conspiring to import a commercial quantity of illicit drugs. The arrest was part of Operation Ironside, a global organised crime bust led by the Australian Federal Police (AFP). Akca said he didn't just run because of the charges: he feared underworld enemies were after him. "I was getting heat and aggression from every angle. I was hearing there was numbers on my head," he said. After a year bouncing around South-East Asia, he wanted to go home. "I really miss my son … When he's old enough to ponder and look for me, it's one thing to think I abandoned him. It's another to see that I really tried [to see him]." Akca said he was helping authorities get explosives off the street. ( Four Corners: Mayeta Clark ) Akca said he approached authorities with a "trade-in" — an arrangement where weapons or explosives are handed over in exchange for leniency in court. The reason police would consider trades like this is to get weapons off the street. In late 2024, Akca said he reached out to the AFP to negotiate a trade so that he could come back to Australia and have his bail reissued. "I was giving them explosives," Akca said. "I said, 'Look, I've got information on a movement of explosives. I can seize it and I can hand it over.'" Akca claimed an AFP officer assured him the deal would get him home. Four Corners can't verify a lot of what Akca said. The AFP and NSW Police have declined requests for interviews. An AFP spokeswoman said its investigation remained ongoing and questioned "the motivation of the individual interviewed by Four Corners". The caravan Akca said he intercepted the caravan of explosives through the driver who was moving it between a black-market seller and buyer. He insisted he didn't buy the explosives himself, but, when asked for proof, said he didn't have the phone he was using at the time. Akca said he told the driver where to leave the caravan. "I actually picked Dural and I just told the driver … to just put it in a safe spot." He said he instructed the driver to remove the detonators. " My clear instruction was, 'make sure this is not gonna explode.' " The street in Dural where the caravan was left. ( Four Corners: Briana Fiore ) Akca said he had nothing to do with the note listing Jewish sites that was later found in the van. "If I knew that was there, I would've taken it out," he said. "I'm not in Australia. I don't know who put that in." Akca said he told the AFP the location of the caravan around December 10. It wasn't until six weeks later that NSW Police discovered the caravan when a man living nearby reported it. The AFP would not confirm with Four Corners whether Akca notified them of the caravan's location on December 10, or when the AFP notified NSW Police about its possible location. State and federal politicians worry the relationship between the two policing agencies has hampered the investigation. "There are huge failings in the way our law enforcements are sharing information," state Nationals MP Wes Fang said. "The adversarial nature between the two agencies is how terrorist attacks slip through." An AFP spokeswoman said NSW Police and the AFP worked closely and effectively to keep Australians safe. In a statement, NSW Police said it worked collaboratively with its partner agencies. In January, before news about the caravan had broken, Akca sent Four Corners a text: "There will be news shortly on a van that got found full of explosives that was targeted at the Israelis," he wrote. He also said the caravan was terror-related. The ABC contacted NSW Police. An hour later, the Daily Telegraph published the story. It's difficult to pin Akca down on how he knew the van was "targeted at the Israelis" prior to the news breaking. Akca says he told the driver to put the caravan "in a safe spot". ( Four Corners: Briana Fiore ) In the weeks that followed the caravan's discovery, Akca said he offered more trades — fishing the underworld for more explosives, even handing over another stash to police. The AFP would not confirm this. "When we handed those over, that didn't make the news," Akca said. "They reacted really fast that time." But by March, his hopes of a deal had turned sour. Watch Akca's stunning admissions in Four Corners' exclusive interview, tonight from 8:30 on ABC TV and . 'Pulling the strings' Seven weeks after the discovery of the van, the AFP announced there was never going to be a "mass-casualty event". AFP Deputy Commissioner Krissy Barrett said the caravan was "concocted by criminals" for their own benefit. Someone, she said, was "pulling the strings" of this plan from a distance, using hired local criminals to carry it out. "Put simply, the plan was the following: organise for someone to buy a caravan, place it with explosives and written material of antisemitic nature. Leave it in a specific location and … inform law enforcement about an impending terror attack against Jewish Australians," she said. Within days, Sayit Akca's name was all over the media as a key person of interest. Then, as authorities were grilled in parliamentary hearings, the scale of what Akca was being accused of became clearer. The discovery of the caravan was preceded by months of attacks that had shocked Sydney's Jewish community. Synagogues were spray-painted with swastikas, homes were graffitied, businesses were set alight. A car set alight and a home graffitied in the Sydney suburb of Woollahra. ( ABC News ) "I believe there are 14 incidents separate to the caravan … we believe all of those have the same common source," NSW Police Deputy Commissioner David Hudson told state parliament. At Senate estimates, AFP Deputy Commissioner Barrett alleged a "suspected criminal" overseas was behind it. "We allege this person paid local criminals to carry out antisemitic graffiti and vandalism for weeks whilst planning the caravan plot," she said. "We know that this was to create absolute fear and anxiety in the Jewish community to get the attention from law enforcement. In exchange for providing information of an imminent threat, they wanted to return to Australia without being sent straight to jail." Akca denies orchestrating the attacks or the caravan "fake terror plot", and maintains he tried to help law enforcement by intercepting the explosives. "I removed something off the street and gave it to them. And then there's a bunch of other things they're alleging was me. But I deny it. Doesn't match my timeline," he said. "It feels like the narrative is just being controlled really inaccurately." 'No relief' Akca believes he's safe from extradition in Türkiye and no longer wants to come back. "I was willing to do that, but not anymore." If he were to return, he faces the possibility of a sentence of life imprisonment for his drug charges alone. He knows many won't believe his story. "Everyone's entitled to their opinion. If they put out the right page, I'm putting out the left page. People can pick something in the middle," he said. Akca knows many won't believe him. ( Four Corners: Mayeta Clark ) The effects of the terrifying shadow organised crime cast over Australia with these attacks are still being felt. Hate crime laws were rushed through NSW and federal parliaments. Both contained controversial provisions. "What could have been, I think, a really unifying moment of political leadership where we pass laws to criminalise the worst of hate speech, [became] this absolute political bun fight over taking it to this extreme level of mandatory sentencing," Greens senator David Shoebridge said of the federal laws. "Mandatory sentencing is an attack on the independence of the judiciary," he said. New South Wales's legislation was debated in a single day. Several New South Wales parliamentarians expressed grave concerns about the passing of what they said were ambiguous laws affecting protests and free speech. Rabbi Ben Elton is chief minister of The Great Synagogue in Sydney. ( Four Corners: Briana Fiore ) The Jewish community is still shaken by the attacks. Rabbi Ben Elton, whose synagogue was included on the list of sites found in the caravan, said it didn't matter what the motivation behind the attacks was. "There was no relief when the police said this might be by organised crime because synagogues were still targeted. Day cares were still targeted, lives were still endangered. It makes no difference." "All that matters is, are Jews being targeted? Are Jews being terrorised deliberately? And that was the case." Watch Four Corners' full investigation, The Fugitive, tonight from 8:30 on ABC TV and .
