Police have arrested a second man allegedly involved in a fire and graffiti attack on a synagogue.
Two days after Adam Edward Moule was arrested in relation to January 11’s attack on Newtown Synagogue, in Sydney’s inner west, authorities apprehended a 37-year-old man they believe was also involved.
The synagogue was spray-painted with red swastikas and briefly set alight in the early hours of January 11 before the fire went out.
Moule was arrested on Tuesday and charged with offences including arson and property damage.
He will remain in custody for at least the next two weeks after he did not apply for bail in court on Thursday.
Prosecutors said they were seeking to have the case dealt with in the District Court, where higher potential penalties apply.
Moule’s 37-year-old alleged accomplice was arrested at a hotel in inner-city Pyrmont about 1pm on Thursday after officers used a Taser during the process of apprehending him.
He was treated by paramedics before being taken to a local police station but is yet to be charged.
Premier Chris Minns congratulated the police on their “dogged” work, warning other potential offenders that investigators were not finished.
“The NSW Police Force has deployed dozens of officers determined to catch the bastards responsible for these sickening, racist crimes,” he said in a statement.
The latest arrest is the 10th by a strike force set up to investigate a spate of anti-Semitic attacks in Sydney, which have included the targeting of a childcare centre near a synagogue and the former home of a prominent Jewish community leader.
NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb previously said investigators were closing in on a second person allegedly involved in the Newtown synagogue incident.
Moule, 33, was also charged with allegedly growing cannabis plants and being in possession of stolen goods.
During his arrest, police allegedly found five debit cards in different names, and from different financial institutions, which police believe to have been stolen.
Ms Webb said police were still investigating the motivation behind the anti-Semitic attacks after her federal counterparts revealed they were probing the possibility that overseas actors had recruited “criminals for hire” to carry out the crimes.
“We can’t rule anything out anything and we need to keep an open mind, which we are doing,” she said.
The synagogue attackers ignited a clear liquid that burned out in minutes, but it could have had deadly consequences if it had taken hold, Ms Webb said at the time.
Moule is due to return to court on February 6.
