An organised crime network fabricated a plot to attack a synagogue in Australia to divert law enforcement resources, according to police. The Australian Federal Police (AFP) said on Monday that the discovery of explosives in a caravan parked in Sydney was part of a “criminal con job”. The country has previously said it suspected there were criminal links to a surge in anti-Semitic crime since the start of the Gaza war. The authorities found the caravan, which contained enough explosives to create a blast wave of 40 metres (130 feet), in January. The police now say they quickly realised that the cache was fabricated by an organised crime network. The caravan had been easily located, the AFP said, adding that the explosives were clearly visible and no detonator was present, suggesting there was never any intent to attack Jewish targets. “The caravan was never going to cause a mass casualty event but instead was concocted by criminals who wanted to cause fear for personal benefit,” Krissy Barrett, AFP’s deputy commissioner for national security, told a news conference.